


Can you hear the sound of thunder?

by Kadma32



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Discrimination, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Journey to the Underworld, M/M, Pandora's Box, Resistance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 65,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29175756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kadma32/pseuds/Kadma32
Summary: Danni is a shapeshifter who has made his life away from his home, in a different country. Everything was good, he had a job and people who loved him.But, when the Church of the Heroes takes over politics and a new era of discrimination and fear dawns on his adoptive country: all the not native magical creatures are to be captured and destroyed.The life he built for himself falls to pieces.But what happens when he joins the Resistance and he traps a soldier of the opposition, and, more to the point, a "Shadow", someone who could change the destiny of the rebellion?From chapter 15:"-To enter the world of the Dead, you need to leave behind what is most precious to you. Are you ready? -Danni stood for a moment immobile and silent.But there was no turning back.-Yes- he whispered.-Please step forward- Inanna said again, and the demons were right behind Danni, ready to give him one last push.He needed to say it now before it was too late.-I love you- Danni said without looking at Lu."
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 1





	1. The last ship

**Author's Note:**

> Please note English is not my first language and this work is unbetaed. 
> 
> I do hope you enjoy it and do let me know what you think, I am really interested in any feedback that could help me improve my writing :)

Waterloo central was Danni's vision of hell. A dirty, smelly concourse surrounded by overpriced food stores where Danni could buy a panini only by selling a kidney. And it was full of people running everywhere without paying attention to the world around them. The number of commuters bumping into each other and swearing like cave men was incredible. He was sure he got a few bruises peppering his arms due to these idiots. Where were they going anyway? Ah, right, families and friends. Right, right, the ones he had been denied, but hey. Shit happens, and you can't really fight it when it gets that deep. You might just accept it. Keep calm and carry on, right? Danni shook his head, trying to send those stupid thoughts away now as he had to concentrate on what train he had to take. He joined the huge crowd of screen watchers, everybody with their nose up in the air looking at those black, luminous boards showing the different destinations. He lived so long in the village he had forgotten how big his adoptive country was. Morris taught him geography and all, in his attempt to prepare him for the citizenship test but in and out it went. He had never been one for academia much, but he could bet his own right hand that nobody else was able to create food like him.

Not that it mattered anymore.

The train to the coast arrived on platform 15. Danni pulled his hood as down as it went. With his six foot two he already looked intimidating, but the hood was the real killer. The moment he put it on, the number of dirty looks would increase tenfold. Oh well, whatever. He elbowed his way to the turnstiles, laughed at a person getting stuck for some ticket related issues and jumped on the train. Inside, it was a long, aseptic tube with lots of neon lights that, together with the red, anonymous seats, made it even more like the waiting room to hell. He wasn't complaining. He had learnt the hard way that he was in hell already. In a strange turn of fate, he found a window seat, one of those precious one-seater spots, the ones that would always go first, as nobody in their right state of mind would sit closely to strangers, risking to touch them, or worst look them in the eye! He had seen that happening and not, it wasn't a pleasant sight. Earphones, eyes closed and, as the train started to slowly move away, he could almost smell the bread coming out of the oven or his new cake to be delivered to Penny for her second birthday. It had taken him three days of full on work, but I was the most amazing mermaid cake, with a moving tail whipping out of the water. She had hugged him so tightly, a real reward. No, stop, you can't live in the past.

His eyes jolted open and quickly muted Spotify. On the other side of the aisle two young girls, not older than his nineteen years, were merrily chatting away in his own language. Were they going to get the ferry too? Likely, but really, did they not read the news? It was not a good idea to speak a foreign language in public when he first arrived, and it was even more dangerous now. Danni looked around, trying to identify if anybody was going to lose it. But nothing happened. He noticed some side glances, shaking of heads and a general tat-tat but nothing more. He breathed out and turned up the volume again. And right then, right when he thought they were safe, a fat, big guy went and pulled one of the girls' hair so hard she fell on the floor with a cry right at Danni's feet.

Music off. Off.

'You should be dead, you monsters' the man screamed. Of fucking course. Right on the lapel of his nicely ironed jacket, a bright red circle with the white triangle in the centre sparkled: he was a supporter of the Church of the Heroes. Everyone was but only the hard-core ones wore the badges.

Danni jumped right in the middle, protecting the girl from a kick directed to her stomach.

'Out of my way' the man growled. Eyes dilated and a slight tremble in his hands. Great, mad and high, what a combination. Why did the Church of Heroes appeal in particular to the sad and crazy? And where the hell was the guard? Danni just wished his enemy wasn't armed. He opened his arms, trying to make himself look as big and intimidating as possible. He didn't have much experience in combat, except for the afternoon spent dealing with Morris' cows back at the farm.

'Leave these girls alone' he hissed, not looking around to the other passengers because he wasn't going to get any support. If anything, he was going to become some sort of internet star with people already filming him.

'And who would you be? Mister hero? ' the attacker studied him with semi-closed eyes and that simple gesture made a cold shiver run all the way down Danni's spine. He had seen that look before, the look of someone trying to examine something strange. Danni's skin itched and he struggled not to start scratching. And then the panic increased...was his power about to come forward? Was he going to change shape right at the worst moment? That was definitely going to make a hit on YouTube.

'Stop immediately' the deep voice of the guard in the yellow, fluorescent jacket rocketed around the deadly silent train. At the sound of authority, Danni's attacker relaxed, his muscled weren't so tense anymore. And a warm, bright smile appeared on his face. He wanted to play the part of the innocent citizen doing his duty.

'Sir this man...' Danni started, but, after looking around himself, he realised that the girls were gone. They had rushed away, leaving him with the crap. Mental note: never assist people again because no, they are not going to help you.

Everything that followed went so quickly that Danni would have not been able to repeat the sequence of events, but one thing was for sure: two police guards had come out of the blue and thrown him out of the train, shouting that he was lucky that they were not going to arrest him this time.

He sat on the dirty platform, looking at the dark clouds threatening to break any minute. But he couldn't move. Had it really happened? He defended two young things that hadn't done anything wrong, and as a result the police threw him out. The guard hadn't bothered listening to him and he knew why: his eyes had betrayed him. They had started to flicker, going from one colour to another at the speed of light. Something not normal. The man didn't know that it was the sign of a shapeshifter losing control, but he understood that it wasn't normal and called the police. Danni punched the pavement, blooding his knuckles. Nobody had dared to help or said a word. Everybody was so scared of their own shadows these days. Damn them all. He finally took a deep breath and stood up. The place looked desolate. Only two rail tracks, one near the other, ran through the station and was that an abandoned McDonald bag? He hated junk food but hey, beggars can't be choosers. Then his phone vibrated in his pocket. Why the hell did they make the pockets always so small? After he finally managed to fish it out, he read his mother's text on WhatsApp: "safe journey home, see you soon. Love you". Shit, when was the next train to the coast? The electronic board on a slim, rickety sign showed the next one at 3:36. He had to wait an hour! Damn it, that meant arriving an hour later to the coast and... was he going to make it to the ferry?

Deep breaths, deep breaths. He started to tap a finger on his right thigh. No air was coming in. The transformation was coming. No, no. Think of Morris. Think of Penny. The smell of a freshly baked loaf of bread just taken out of the oven.

The kiss of his mother before he left.

And he was going to feel it again. He wasn't going to miss that ferry.

The moment the train stopped at Kohan, Danni jumped down at the speed of light, not sure where he was going, bumping into everyone in his way. He had originally planned to stop at the station bakery, famous for its pies, and to buy as much food as it was humanly possible, but now it was him against time. He finally spotted some brown signs pointing him in the direction of the harbour. The smell of sea water and fish was getting stronger and stronger. Soon he noticed some big ships and ferries toot-tooting away as they left the docks with loads of kids waving goodbye to their families.

Where was the one he had to take? He ran faster, descending on a poor, defenceless guy in a high visibility jacket and half barked his question.

'Too late mate, the ferry is ready to go' he said, shaking a head that looked too big for his body. A Humpty Dumpty look alike. Under Danni's dismayed eyes, a huge boat started to move away from the coast.

'Don't worry, there should be another tomorrow, you can buy a ticket down in the office' the man said, giving him a pat on the shoulder, making him feel even more defeated.

And, suddenly, a strong, salty wind slapped his face, followed by the noise of loads of voices fascinated by something. He looked up and he saw it: an incredibly thick fog had appeared. It looked like all the clouds in the sky had fallen on the water, hiding the horizon. It went all the way up too, closing them in the dome and blocking the view of the sun. It let enough rays of light come in, just enough so that they were not all plunged into darkness.

Surely there was scientific explanation, right? Then why did Danni's stomach feel frozen? He watched the ferry continue its trajectory, straight towards the fog. Yes, see, everything is ok, they wouldn't let the ship go into danger. It is fog. It's a natural phenomenon and...

And then, a second after that thought, the ferry approached the fog. Time stopped. Danni and the crowds on the docks watched powerlessly as a lightning hit the ship. So many jolts of electricity, one after the other in an incredibly quick succession, making it sink, dooming everyone on board to death.

Everybody on the docks started screaming and running away.

'What happened?' Danni growled, grabbing the man with the huge head by the collar of his shirt. He could have been there. A cold shiver ran through his back as he realised, he should have been dead. Deep breaths, take deep breaths. He would have been dead if it hadn't been for the crazy man on the train.

'I don't know, we never lost a ship' the man squeaked, shaking and blabbing away. Danni looked at the man. His pupils were dilated, and his breath was short, coming in little spasms. He was as scared as Danni.

Danni took out his phone again, trying to text his mother. But there was only one little tick on WhatsApp. Same situation when he texted his sister. And when he tried to ring the house number, feeling so desperate he wouldn't have minded talking to his father, there was no signal.

Did the fog cut them off from the outside world?


	2. Three years later

Lu Kusack stood on top of a tall skyscraper, wrapped up in his long, dark coat, looking at the life bustling down in the streets, where the normal humans were rushing to go home after a long day at work. There was something exhilarating about being able to look at someone without being noticed. Complete and utter anonymity, fitting for a Shadow. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the cool evening air. Something even better was coming, something the Hesperides, the evening nymphs, were waiting for too as they flew close to his face.

'Would you mind?' he said to one that almost touched his nose. They were pretty, humanoid creatures, with a body as small as a dove but eyes so big and wide to cover almost all of their faces. Their bodies, from head to toe, were completely covered in the same tones and shades: some were dark orange, some deep blue while others purple and pink ones, all the colours of the different stages of the evening.

'Someone is a bit tetchy today' she replied, bringing a little hand to her face as she giggled away. How were they always happy? He would have found it exhausting.

'It's been a long day' he said, sighting. For as much as he would have rather kept everything for himself, something about those little creatures always loosened his tongue more than necessary.

'Come and fly with us' a smiley pink one said, joining the other. He was sure they had names, but he had never learnt them.

'In a moment' he replied, pointing to the sun with his chin. He needed to wait for the last ray of sun to open the curtain to the World of the Shadows, so he could enter it and be free, if only for a night. When entering the World of Shadows, all the magical creatures, not only the nymphs, would appear in front of him, hidden from the sight of the non-authorized humans and other mortal creatures. And, behind the curtain, he would hide too, nobody could see him, not even in his human form. No more humans, no more mages, no more "monsters" to kill. Secretly, he had always hoped to find another Shadow, someone else like him, but he hadn't been so lucky yet.

Three, two, one. The last ray of sunshine shut out of the horizon turning from a sweet shade of orangey pink to a deep, rich purple that, slowly, trickle down in every direction, covering the sky and the magical creatures waiting for the evening light to come alive. He was living for those moments.

'Are you coming no?' the cheeky nymph said, smiling coyly at him. He stretched his lips up and started running as fast as he could to the edge of the building.

Then, right before the end, he took one last sprint and jumped. He leapt in the void, letting his heart skip a bit, before reaching the other end, another rooftop. Once more.

'So, you can fly' she said.

Both evening and night nymphs were flying around him now, the latter flapping around him with their bat-like wings. And could he see a dragon in the far distance?

'I did tell you' he replied. He did like a good challenge. And flying away in the night was definitely one he could win.

'But I bet you are not as fast as we are' said the first nymph, with a cheeky smile.

'Game on' he replied, looking at her from down up. He gave them a little bit of an advantage, letting them go as fast as their little wings would go. And then he sprinted forward once again. As he jumped, he let his body follow its instinct. It felt like the pleasure one feels after scratching an itch, the gentle sensation of release as every part of his body start to liquefy mid-air. Little black drops fell from his face, hands and legs, before reuniting in one black shadow on the roof of the next skyscraper. And now, not limited by his gravity-bound body or by the sun interrupting the dark shadows of the night, he sprinted forward but so much faster than before, sliding on the night shadows, almost fusing with them as he chased the nymphs. There they were, flying in the direction of the white, barbed creature he had spotted in the distance.

And, as predicted, he quickly overtook them. And he laughed, letting go for the first time in a while of his fears and troubles.

'But that is cheating' he heard the squeaking voice of the nymph complaining but not very seriously. He liked them for their constant light-hearted approach to everything. Big Dave would have loved to meet them.

He was about to re-emerge, to take his human form again when a strong pain in his head made his heart sink. The world around him started to move, ripple around his vision, as if someone had thrown a rock in the pool of his eyes. He knew exactly what it was: a Foreign Contaminant, a creature with magical powers at odds with the harmony of the country. They only had to use their powers to create distortions in the harmony, distortions a normal human wouldn't be able to spot, but a Shadow like him could tell immediately. And the closer he would get to the source of the distortion, the faster and stronger the ripples would become, making it easy to spot the enemy, but extra hard to catch and destroy it. But hey, he had always carried out his missions, gritting his teeth through it all. He was the best in his squad, the one with the best track record of successful catches. The one time being a Shadow turned out to be useful.

'We won, we won' he heard the nymphs chanting as they overtook him once again, finally losing interest as the dragon appeared in all its glory, the magical glory of a huge, brightly coloured snake flying in the sky.

He finally enjoyed a moment of quietness to focus. He turned around himself, trying to understand in which direction he had to go. Ok, he turned north west, and the ripples became stronger and faster. His target was there. Why did he unleash his powers right now? Couldn't s/he wait until the next day? And it wasn't as if he could just ignore it. It was going to come back and bite him at some point. Isamund somehow always knew everything and he could bet that, one day, she was going to discover that he hadn't taken care of a Foreign Contaminant. She had been categorical: the Containment Squad had been chosen to bring peace to the country, find the enemies and bring down the fog. She had promised that he was going to be sung as a hero soon. He only needed to keep faith, she had said, keep faith and smile, they were almost there. The day when the Church of Heroes was going to recognise him, a Shadow, as the hero he was, was near.

Well, as long as she thought of him as a hero, he was going to die a happy man.

He followed the ripples, flying around towards the suburbs of the city.

All the signs pointed to a wooded area outside the suburbs. Good, maybe he was going to be spared from the kids tears, if he was going to have to capture a family man. Bad, because if he was about to face someone who had gone wild, he didn't have any weapons with. Maybe he needed to call back up? But he knew that David and the guys were having a relaxing evening, one relaxing evening after another long and tedious mission that had only brought them to capture a demon.

He entered the woods and the pain in his head got stronger and stronger, splitting his head in half. He wanted to scream, but someone else did it for him: a creature was contorted on the ground in the midst of all sort of trees and bushes.

'Well, all for the better, if the enemy is already down, what are you waiting for?' he could hear Scarlett's voice in his head, so often had she trained him in effective combat she didn't even need to be present anymore. He knew he could probably finish the creature with his bare hands if he really wanted to...but the pain in his head was so strong, he couldn't focus. As quickly as possible, he let his body crystallise, which was not fun as every part of his body seemed to be constricted by an invisible force, making the whole process quite claustrophobic. Once he stood up right, like a normal human, the pain receded a little. The connection with the magic, the connection with the Shadow World, grew always stronger when he liquefied.

The creature's lament brought him back to reality. Now he could see better what he was up against: it was a shape shifter, a young man by the looks of it. He had lost control of the magic in his body, causing the pain in both of them. His power was running wild after months of containment, making his limbs twitch uncontrollably as he struggled not to make them change in big monkey paws, dark, hellish claws or multiply over and over. His hair and his facial features were changing too, going from long to short, curly, straight hair, male, female and all shades in between. But his eyes were not changing: they were blown wide open as they stared blankly from the sky above to Lu himself.

And then Lu knew what he needed to do. He rushed to him, straddling him as to use his own weight to keep him steadier. He then used all his energy to grab hold of his arms.

'Breathe' he ordered, as if he was talking to one of the younger recruits in the army.

His eyes were still unfocused, roaming from one place to another, barely stopping on Lu's face. His body was struggling with too much power.

'Breathe in and out. Listen to my voice, focus' he said, almost growling. He couldn't save the half demon from the detention centre. He couldn't stop his wife wailing as he was taken away somewhere else. He couldn't stop a young girl being taken away because her dead mother was an angel. He could never wipe the tears away. It was his duty, his own way to bring honour to his country, as Isamund had said with her lovely smile. But it felt right to save the young man beneath him, before someone else would pick up on the magical power flowing out of his body.

And if Isamund was going to be disappointed, so be it.

Lu let go of the man's arm to give him a sharp blow in the face, hoping that the shock would help him focus. No, the only result he obtained was to get blood flushing down his victim's nose and his own: the young man demonstrated incredible strength by using his free arm to push Lu away from him but, as he tried to jump on his feet, he wobbled and fell down again.

'Well, enough now' Lu said out loud. He knelt on the grass and touched the darkness, the thin layer covering everything during the night, a layer too strong for the moon alone to break. The perfect layer to use in his creation. He let a few drops of his hand mix with it and, just like he imagined in his head, the shadow rushed towards his victim. Strands of shadows crept up from the ground and tied themselves up around each limb of their target, forcing him in a kneeling position. Lu step forward, standing tall near his prisoner. He wasn't proud of it but, whenever he had someone down like that, he felt a little chill of adrenaline. The adrenaline of the person in charge of life and death.

One moment of hesitation. He could still bring the creature in. The first shapeshifter, the people back at the base were going to be overjoyed at having the possibility to study him closely, opening the boy up to study the power inside.

Lu looked at his prisoner's face. His eyes, now more focused, were open wide in naked fear.

It was always life and death. But this time Lu chose life. So, as the young man growled, Lu reached for the sleeping pills in the pocket of his jacket, pushed one out of its socket and said:

'Now you are going to sleep and forget about your pain'.

With all the strength he had left, he opened his mouth and shoved the pill in. Luckily it was quite small, so the shapeshifter swallowed it easily. Lu let go of his victim and, with a smug smile on his face, he watched him fall down on the grass like a sack of potatoes.

Out of nowhere, the pink nymph appeared, flying close to the young man. In the deep darkness of the forest, it looked like she glowed of natural light.

'He is handsome' She chirped, lifting an abandoned strand of hair from the man's forehead. In the dim light, Lu could finally see him a bit better: a slim but muscular guy, with dark hair and sharp facial features.

'Why do you keep on following me?' he asked, frowning in the dark. That was strange. Nymphs were gregarious creatures, counting on the old safety in numbers, one wouldn't simply leave like that.

'Because you are interesting...and I am jealous of your flying' she said, moving to sit of Lu's shoulder. Her body was very warm, and her long hair tickled his cheek. He wasn't sure if he believed her, but it was comforting to have her there, in the darkness of the forest.

It was nice not to be alone for once.

'What is your name? 'she asked, wishing to put an identity to her little face.

'Leerye' she replied with a shy smile.

'Lu, pleasure to meet you' he said, holding out the tip of his index finger that she promptly shook with both of her hands.


	3. The preacher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lu comes back to the baracks after his strange, late night meeting and is confronted with the nastiness the nasty realities of his life.

It was almost dawn when Lu arrived back at the station, a huge rectangle of cement and dark red bricks surrounded by barb wire, with huge flashlights and little observation turrets at each corner, giving you the idea of an eye constantly watching you. It should have instilled panic, but Lu was always happy to come back home. He liked everything in that place, from his personal room to the courtyard open in the middle of the rectangle. It was going to be nice to spend the summer evening when not on duty in the garden. They usually had some summer parties, with a lot of alcohol flowing freely making him, for once, a little less self-conscious. With a spring in his steps, he approached the main gate, a huge iron gate manned by two newly recruited guards in their blue and yellow uniform. Lu didn't pay them much attention even though he could feel their gaze at the back of his neck as he approached the gate. Young guards always admired him and his teammates, wishing to be them. But Lu knew the dark side of that admiration: those two kids were younger than him, barely eighteen and, from his experience, they were coming out of school more radical and extreme than some of the preachers he had listened to in the town's square. They were so convinced of everything. It was all black and white, the bad guys and the good guys. Lu could remember a time when he was just like them, sure in his ideas. They were the heroes, no? He sighted.

Mechanically, he let his badge slide in the vertical slot triggering two little compartments to open on the surface otherwise completely smooth of the door. The first one was a little mechanical arm holding a medical needle. The second one was a DNA reader, a mechanical rectangle with a smooth, concave surface. Without thinking much about it, Lu pierced his index finger and let a few drops of blood fall down. It always opened far too silently for such a big, heavy door, but hey, nothing made sense anymore anyway.

The entrance was a very boring rectangular room with a little line of desks on the right side where the receptionists would sit. In fairness they were always nice to him, Jason had even bought him a little cake for his birthday, thinking to do something nice for him. Still, Lu didn't get angry, how could he know he hated birthdays with a passion? He waved at him and the old lady sitting next to him, receiving a smile in return. Lu took the first corridor on the left, leading to the several training facilities and, ultimately, to the men's rooms. As it was that fine line between it been too late and too early, he didn't meet anybody in the empty gym or in the armoury, so he managed to arrive, unmolested, to his room. It was small, maybe too small, but it had everything he needed: a bed, a wardrobe and a desk, with a lamp, few books and the nice picture he took with Mary Sol and the others the day he left the orphanage. He took the nice silver frame in both his hands. He really needed to write her at some point, or pass by to say hi or...well, all those thoughts could wait, suddenly the bed felt so nice and appealing that he fell on it face first.

Something was shaking him. Cursing internally, Lu opened his eyes to find big Dave standing next to him.

'Wakey, wakey sunshine'.

Lu pushed his friend's hand away from his shoulder and, puzzled by the amount of sunshine coming in through the drawn curtains, he asked:

'What time is it?' he dreaded the answer.

'Eleven o'clock. Morning training is done and dusted. You got everybody worried' David said, giving him a gentle punch on the shoulder. He didn't seem angry or troubled, but Lu knew their training officer was going to shout at him the moment they crossed path. And what was he going to say? That he had let a Foreign Contaminant get away with it when he could have abducted him without trouble?

'Tell the truth, you went out drinking without me eh?' David said, sitting down on the bed next to him. How did he always be so happy and self-content? Lu didn't answer. Surely silence is consent right?

'By the way, your old lady is in the lobby, waiting for you'

'My old lady?' then, with sudden fear, he realised who he was talking about: Mary Sol was here to see him. Had he forgotten a birthday? Hers or one of her grandchildren? Take a deep breath, they were all summer kids, long way to go yet. Had he said he was coming to visit her and forgotten about it? He really needed to start keeping a diary.

'Is she angry?' he said, trusting David's ability to judge someone's character even if he didn't know them well. Especially at the beginning of their friendship, Lu had felt a little self-conscious in front of him. But, after David had taken a bullet in his big, broad shoulders for him, the self-consciousness went down the drain.

'Doesn't look like it, maybe a little concern, but I am not the best with old ladies' he said with a sullen look in his eyes, but not sullen enough to be taken seriously. Could he ever not make a joke about everything?

Lu quickly changed out of his clothes from the night before and, striding away, arrived in the lobby in no time. Mary Sol immediately spotted him and stood up from the little stool near the reception desk. David defined her as old, and probably she was considering he had known her since he was five, but, to his eyes, she still didn't look like it. Some wrinkles marred her dark skin near her eyes and around her mouth, but, after all, who didn't have some wrinkles in times like those? Everybody was always frowning with worries.

'Hey little pumpkin!' she said, smiling, crossing her arms around her chest. Last time she had come to meet him at the station, she had passed her arms around his neck and gave him two big kisses on each cheek. After being mercilessly mocked by the rest of his squad, he had asked her not to do that again when meeting him at the station. Keep the kisses for later.

'How are you? It's good to see you Sol' he said, standing away from her to try to judge her. No, she didn't look angry. No birthday forgotten. What was it then?

'Good to see you too...can I take you out for brunch?' she said, before looking quickly, very quickly, around herself.

'Sure' he said. There was something wrong. She had three children and six grandchildren by now, he had been to a couple of their birthday parties. she was not the kind of person to go and spend money on random brunch treats. The mystery was getting thicker and thicker. He took her by the arm and, gently, walked out of the station before someone could stop him.

The area around the station was quite desolate, with some abandoned play field with sad looking slides and swings for kids, looking even sadder in the cloudy weather, a couple of very tall towers of flats and other council estates. On their walls, vandals had spray painted slogans like "Hail Heroes" and "Death to the Foreign Contaminants" with a couple of spelling mistakes. Someone had gone to the trouble of attaching a huge poster with the list of species being hunted down. There was also a big, iron and glass building where the Office of Repatriation was located, and, close by, the local branch of the Church of the Heroes, both of them as close as possible to where the station of their military arm was getting trained. Lu looked up at the top of the iron and glass building, where Isamund's office was. He made a mental note to himself: after having a break with Mary Sol, he was going straight to see her. She had said he could drop by whenever he wanted, right?

Lu and Mary Sol stopped right in front of Mimi's, the only decent cafe in the vicinity. The moment you stepped it, it stood out as a nice and clean space, with fresh flowers on every table and, when the sun was shining, a lot of natural light filtering through the big glass door. Maybe it had a bit of the old lady vibe, with the nicely trimmed tablecloths, the pictures of landscapes hanging of the wall and the home-made cakes on show in the glass cabinet. But Mimi and her staff did make the best coffee he had ever tried. He ordered a double espresso and a chocolate doughnut for himself and a latte and a slice of carrot cake for her.

'You are so grown up. I know it's stupid, but whenever I come to see you, it takes me a minute to realise you are not the young child coming to knock on my door at night' she said the moment he sat down in front of her. He felt his cheeks getting a little warmer.

'It did take me a long time to realise it was better to knock than to liquefy and slip through the door' he said. Oh, he had done that far too many times when he was in the orphanage, but it was nice to escape sometimes. It was nice to go and see Mary Sol in the rooms she was sharing with the other ladies, especially on those nights after someone else, once again, had been chosen for adoption. On those occasion, in the silence of the night and with the complicity of the other ladies, Mary Sol would let him sleep in her room after singing a lullaby.

'You know how I feel about your power. I just wish your natural parents would have understood how great they are' she said with a smile. Yes, he remembered that. She had always encouraged him, smiled at him every time he had learnt something new about his power.

Mary Sol took a sip of her drink before shaking her head and saying:

'I am here also for another reason' she said, suddenly frowning, looking at him from down up.

'Some scary rumours are going around'. Mary Sol and her team of cleaners and matrons at the orphanage were part of a wider network of cleaning ladies and gentlemen sharing information from every corner of the town and, to a certain extent, country. 99% of the time the info coming to him this way had become truth. With all his senses heightened, he said:

'What is happening?'

'There will be an attack against one of the Churches of the Heroes, possibly during or after a service' she said in a whisper. No, it was not something you wanted the rest of the general public to know. Lu wanted to ask how on earth she had managed to hear something like that. But he already knew her answer: nobody cares when the cleaning team is in the room, and so all the secrets come to the surface.

'Any more details?' he said, crossing his arms. There were loads of Churches of the Heroes in the pulsing heart of the City, did they need to man them all? And what about outside the capitol? Even with the recruiting programmes of the past three years, it was too insane an objective.

'Think about it, isn't a special day coming up?' she replied, curving her lips in a cheeky smile.

'The Day the Curtain Fell, of course' he said, slamming both his hands on the table, receive a couple of surprised looks from the other coffee drinkers. That was the pompous name for the commemoration of the appearance of the fog, or, in other words, the moment the hunt for all the foreign blood, the "Foreign Contaminants" tainting the blood of the Original Heroes, started. The moment Isamund gave him a job and hope. Although ceremonies were held in all the branches of the Church, the main event, the sacrifice of one of the many prisoners' Lu's team had caught, happened in the Sanctuary of Light, the huge medieval church in the centre of the town. Lu had been there before, as part of a special event to say thanks to the Containment Squad, to say thanks to him, David and Scarlett, and he had hated it from the start. The exterior was far too imposing, so full of decorations from angels to gargoyles (paradoxically considering that some angels were a target) it didn't have even a small piece empty.

On a day like the Day the Curtain Fell, that church was the busiest place in the City.

He quickly finished his coffee and doughnut and, after giving Mary Sol a quick peck on the cheek he said:

'Thank you for the info. I will come to visit you soon'

She smiled fondly and said:

'I will be waiting'.

He rushed as fast as he could to the Office of Repatriation. With his uniform on, he only had to flash his badge at the guard at the door and went straight in. He walked like a man with a purpose through the smooth marble floored lobby, not paying attention to how the marble fountain in the middle was now working again and not paying the slightest attention to the receptionist shouting at him that he needed to tell her where he was going. Quickly, he rushed up the stairs. He should have taken the lift considering the twenty floors to get to Isamund's office, but he needed time to think. Needed time to forgive himself for what he had done the night before. He shouldn't have let that guy live. He should have been merciless, like they had taught him to be.

'Again, with the playing God. Haven't you learnt anything?' a voice said a little ahead of him. Lu lifted his eyes while all the hairs of his neck stood up. Right at the top of the stairs, there was the figure of a man. But it didn't have any shape. No colour, no face or clothes. It was his own shadow. He had learnt that it was a side effect of using his powers too much, his own shadow could become more sentient after too much manipulation. It still freaked him out though, especially because nobody else could see it, not the woman in smart suit and high heels going down the stairs, not the young man with a huge pile of documents going up the same ramp. Lowering his gaze, he continued walking up.

'I have the right to believe in something, haven't I?' he replied in his mind. Why did it have to be so difficult?

No answer came. His shadow could manifest itself only for a few second at a time. Good. Hopefully it was going to stay like that.

He arrived almost breathless on the last floor and opened the elegant wooden door leading to her office. He found her standing up by her full-length window, with her back at him, but, even like that, he could tell how beautiful she was, with her long blond hair flowing down her slender back, and the pure white, almost shining dress only the highest priestess was allowed to wear. She was an e extraordinary woman, not only the head of a priestly order of the Church of the Heroes, but also the head of the most important political office since the fog arrived, the Ministry of Repatriation.

'It has been a long time Lu' she said, still not turning. Her magic powers were so strong, partly because of her natural talent, partly because of the incredible training her dad put her under. Well, well done him, she was now the most powerful magician in the country.

'I am sorry about that' he said, genuinely sorry about it. He had promised to come and visit her often. She had specifically said she like his company. And he had liked hers since the first moment, the day when she came to the orphanage to offer him the chance of a lifetime.

'What's wrong Lu, I can sense you are troubled' she said, finally turning. He didn't have the courage to look straight into her perfectly oval face. He heard her moving, slowly, toward him. His heart jumped right into his throat when she took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her.

'It is ok to feel troubled, we live in difficult times' she said, steady in her belief while he felt like shaking.

'But that is what family is all about, right? When you are sad or aimless, we are all here to help you. I am here to help you' she said, with a voice that sounded like a bird singing. Like a charm. When she gave him a little peck on the cheek, his heart felt like it was about to explode. A small smile appeared on his face as she went back to her desk.

'I am sorry about that' he said. Sod what his shadow said. Sod what his own thoughts lead him to think. He had a family now. He had a place for himself. He had a place in society. But, to keep the benefit of finally knowing who he was, he needed to keep his part of the bargain.

And that meant bring people to justice.

'I come bearing news. An attack on one of the Churches might be imminent'

'That wouldn't surprise me, those buildings are the most vulnerable of all' she said, with a sad smile, bringing the tips of her hands together.

And then she sat silently. Lu stood there, fidgeting. Why wasn't she taking action?

'Do I need to go and warn my squad? Should we...' he blubbered, arching an eyebrow.

'I appreciate your readiness and your bravery' she said, looking at him once again.

'But you don't need to do anything at this stage' she said, with a sullen expression. She lowered her eyes for a moment. What was perturbing her?

'So, we are not going to do anything?' he frowned. How could she just sit on her plush chair and not take actions?

'No. I have spoken with the Grand Master of the Order and no, they do not want any extra surveillance' she said, shaking her head.

'That sounds stupid' he blurted out, feeling himself turning purple the moment he realised what he said.

She giggled.

'I would be tempted to agree, but the reason is they want their Churches to look as welcoming as possible, especially with the festivities coming up. How would a faithful feel the moment they have to pass lines and lines of Special Forces and Containment Squads to go and pray to the spirits of the Heroes? ' .

This time Lu managed to keep his mouth shut, even if his first instinct would have been to say, "well though, better to feel a little threatened than to die horribly". He had been at the scene of a couple of attacks from the Foreign Contaminants. It had not been pretty: a building completely eviscerated and so much blood everywhere. The first one counted thirty dead, the second 41 or something. And, well, that had been retaliations. For a little while the isolation prisons where the captured contaminants had been kept, had been empty.

'But I appreciate your concern. My advice would be to be ready to go at any minute. And to relax a little bit'

'Isn't that a little contradictory? ' he said, smiling.

'Well, it's up to you to figure it out' she said, before magically making a tea pot and a plate of biscuits appear in front of them.

'Would you like to stay for a break? '.

As he walked back to the base about an hour after, he noticed the crowd standing outside the church. They were all at the bottom of the stairs leading to the entrance, looking up to the preacher in his black robes. He was a man in his late forties, with a bit of a beer belly still visible underneath his robes and an impressive set of moustaches slightly twirling upwards. But what struck Lu the most was that the man looked happy, so happy he was almost glowing, as he addressed the crowds:

'Let's give thanks to our Great Heroes. Let's give thanks to the men and women who shed away the Primordial Darkness of this land and made it a paradise on earth. Let's give thanks to their spirits, not abandoning their flock. They are still here, looking out for us, creating the Barrier that stopped the Darkness from coming back and allows us to fight and reconstruct that harmony and that peace they worked hard to guarantee for us. Don't lose hope, don't despair. Soon everything will be at peace again'

It all sounded so lovely. The people cheered, some of them clapped and some shouted how they should all go and get those fecking Foreign Contaminants. Lu turned around, hoping to run away, but it was too late, the preacher had spotted him, or his uniform, and with his sing-song voice, he called out to him:

'Lu Kusack, please come back and join me'.

How did he know his name?

With all the eyes of the congregation on him, Lu took a deep breath, turn around, smile and, as slowly as he could, join the preacher, who, without asking permission, grabbed his right hand and lifted it to the sky.

'The new heroes of your land. The new heroes of our time. Please all cheer for the Containment Squad'.

And the crowd went crazy. Lu wanted to bury himself deep in the earth. And right then he noticed him: a tall man, possibly quite young, with his hood almost all the way down his face.

Was he the young man from the forest? He had to be completely mad if he had decided to show up like that, right in front of all those people who could kill him in an instant if they realised who he was.

And then, right as the preacher kept on blabbing some random stuff in his ear, the hooded figure turned around and went away.

When he finally, finally went back to the station, Scarlett greeted him. The moment she noticed him entering the room she stopped talking to the lady at the reception desk and, with three wide strides, she arrived right in front of him. He always hated how closed she would stand next to other people, too close for his comfort, but he had tried to mention it to her and had gone nowhere. And she was his superior, so yeah, he had to drop it. That afternoon she wasn't in her military uniform, just in a tracksuit, ready for training.

'I've been given orders to train you like never before to make up for your lost time this morning' she said, with her arms crossed.

'What got into your mind? Skipping training like that?' she continued. He knew how hard she trained her body and mind, how she always pushed herself the most in the whole building. It was admirable. That was probably the reason why she seemed so angry with him, how dare he skip something so important? But he was too tired to come up with explanations.

'Where should we go?' he simply said, accepting his faith.

She led him to the main gym, which she had booked for the two of them for the rest of the evening. Nobody was going to save him.

She hadn't been lying when she had said she had gotten orders to turn him into a mush, because that was now how he felt. He let himself fall on the floor of the gym, not daring to look at the watch. It had to be around eight o'clock in the evening and his stomach growled like crazy. How was it possible that she didn't seem too bothered? Only a little perspiration glistened on her forehead, wetting her blond hair.

'You did well today' she finally admitted.

'I hope so'

'But do be more considerate. It's important the team goes together to train. In these dark times team spirit is vital'.

And again, with the team spirit. It had been the crux of his life since he entered the squad. He had improved a lot, made a few friends, what else did they want him to do? From not having anybody to talk to besides Mary Sol, he had been expected to place his life in the hands of others. He huffed in response.

'I got you a present' she said, going to get the gym bag she had discarded in a corner.

It was a book, a black leather-bound book with the imprint of a golden hand on the cover. Lu couldn't believe his eyes when he read the title:

"Human Shadows and Their Powers"

Lu flipped through the pages. There were charts, drawings and lots and lots of notes. It looked like a manual.

'It's dated to a gazillion years ago so I don't know how relevant this can be to you, but I thought maybe you could give it a shot, maybe it has some stuff about your powers you haven't discovered yet' she said and, for the first time since they met that evening, she smiled.

'I still can't believe there aren't any more people like you' she added, not deliberately voicing the same thing Lu had been wondering ever since his power showed up the first time. Ever since his brother did not show such powers and was not abandoned like a sack of potatoes.

'Thank you' he simply said, before leaving the room. He had some reading to do.

In the darkness of his room lit only by his side lamp, he kept on reading through the night. The first parts were obvious: how the Shadows descended from the Primordial Darkness, they had been persecuted for centuries and almost wiped out, but then, around the 1730s, a general pardon had been divulged, allowing Shadows to live. That was the same law that was protecting his own life. It had made it impossible for his parents to kill him when he was a child and it had forced the state to pay for his place at the orphanage. Lu didn't know if he had to be grateful or not. He had to take a deep breath when he read that part, thinking that yes, they could live, but not everybody was so accepting. He skipped through the parts about his powers, he didn't need to know how people had in the past dissected corpses thought to be of Shadows to figure out how their biology worked and how the whole liquefying thing was possible. But then, toward the end of the book, something caught his eye. The chapter was called "The Last Resort".

"When a Shadow is in mortal danger, when all the escape routes are gone and there is no way out, a Shadow can use the "Last Resort". This entails dropping all false pretences of being a human and letting one's soul turn back into a shadow, abandoning the human form on the ground. This process releases so much power that, quite often, persecutors were killed during attacks to a Shadows' household".

Lu threw the book at the wall in a fit of anger.

Drop all false pretences of being a human. He was a human.

They were not taking that away from him too.


	4. Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lu and Danni meet again, under completely different circumstances.

It happened suddenly, on a quiet, unassuming, Tuesday afternoon. Lu was out for a walk with nothing to do in the late afternoon, when his phone vibrated in his pocket. A message from Scarlett.

"They attacked the Sanctuary of Light".

No. Why now? It wasn't the ceremony's day, it was far too early! Idiot, they probably thought you were prepared for something to happened on that day, when instead if they take you by surprise they can make the most damage, right?

And he went, liquefying as quickly as he could as he was going to be so much faster than on his two legs. He rushed away, not paying attention to any of the strange thoughts and whispers he heard from the humans' whose shadows he possessed. For once, he was not snooping on people, trying to figure out if they were a Foreign Contaminant or if they were hiding one. He had more important things to do. Once out on the road, he continued jumping from one shadow to the next, burning himself a little in the sunshine but he did what he was best at: grinned his teeth and persevered.

As he got closer and closer, the number of people running away from the scene of the attack increase more and more. He saw them covered in dust and blood.

A strike of luck: once he arrived in the vicinity of the Church, he found a smallish cottage shaded by a tall, ancient tree, so he made his way to it 's shadow, hoping to find a nice point of view from where to examine the situation.

Uhm, so smoke was coming out of what was once a painted glass window. Someone had set up an explosion or something. On his way in he spotted loads of ambulances, had they already come and collected the lucky souls that had managed to escape? The Special Forces and his own team had also arrived, facing the five people standing outside the main gate of the church, each of them holding a random person from the street a knife point. Were they a distraction? Was something more going on inside the church? And why was everybody hesitating? Lu was not sure of so many things, but right in that moment there was only one certainty in his mind. He turned back into his human form, standing up on top of the building's roof. He closed his eyes, brought his hands together as if he was praying and concentrated, picturing behind his eyelids the action in front of him. Figuring where the five shadows of those men were. It was difficult to locate them. There were so many shadows, so much noise. So many voices.

But he had seen them, all five of them at regular intervals in front of the main facade of the church.

There they are!

Strike!

Lu opened his eyes suddenly and, right on cue, clawed hands shoot out of the shadows of his enemies and grabbed them by the neck. Their hostages rushed away screaming in panic, while the different teams called on the scene of the attack, rushed in. Lu turned back into a shadow, flying down the building, passing the five corpses littering the ground, and entered the building. The same place full of tombs and flags was gutted. Pillars were crumbling down; the artwork was destroyed and everywhere he looked he saw blood. He spotted a couple of corpses dismembered by the blast of the bomb.

His blood riled up as he rushed forward trying to spot any survivors under the rubble. They had to go fast, the place was going to fall soon. The sooner he acted, the sooner his comrades were going to be able to leave the place.

And then he saw three people covered in blood hiding in a side chapel. The moment his body crystallised, he said:

-You need to trust me- and, just like he had taken possession of the shadows of the attackers, he ordered the victims' shadows to unify and create a bubble...

-Jules comes with us- the voice of a man came out of the protective shield. Jules was probably the woman lying on the cold church floor. She was without conscience. She was dead, and he didn't have time to care for the dead.

-Jules! - someone else screamed from the inside.

With a wave of his hand, the protective bubble started to roll out of the building, shielding the people inside from the rubble falling down. Hopefully their enemies hadn't left any other explosive device.

Now it was time to leave the scene to the experts, to the bomb diffusion squads and all. Right when he was about to exit, before he could even think of checking on the three people he just saved, his vision rippled ever so slightly, becoming fuzzy around the corners. He turned around and it didn't take a long time to notice the figure rushing away from the church. A member of the attackers' group? Not thinking clearly, Lu liquefied and rushed after him, jumping as fast as he had ever done before, with the adrenaline still rushing in his blood after what he had done.

The individual he was following was faster than normal. Yes, he couldn't be mistaken, he was chasing a Foreign Contaminant, with some incredible skills at avoiding colliding with people rushing away from the scene of the attack. Had he noticed Lu? He hadn't yet made a profile for this person, could he have some sort of powers to perceive him? Lu slowed down a bit, enough to still be able to see him but not been so closed. His enemy kept on going and going, till they got out of town, to the abandoned factory that used to make foreign cars before the fog came down. All the alarm bells possible started to ring in Lu's mind. That place had been abandoned for years, there was only one reason why he would run in: it was some sort of headquarter for the resistance. Lu retracted in the shadows.

-Go back, go back and get back up- said the rational part of his brain. But did he have enough time? He had abandoned the scene of the crime to chase someone and, if he was going to get back empty handed, only Isamund's benevolence was going to save him.

He slipped more slowly, inching little by little, towards the iron gates of the factory.

But, right in as he entered the main building, an electronic shock cursed through his body, forcing to become human again and to fall, face first, on the floor.

When he woke up, it was all dark for a moment. The world seemed to have disappeared. All his muscles hurt, especially the ones in his arms. Had someone tied his arms to a ceiling or something? Suddenly, a bright light came on right in his face, making him blind for a minute, right when a strong punch in the stomach sent pain shooting up right to his brain. He tasted blood in his mouth.

-Wakey wakey sunshine- a masculine voice said.

With his eyes still struggling to adjust to the light, he finally saw the young man standing proud in front of him and he swore internally: he was again faced to face with the guy he had saved a few nights before!

-Who are you? - he said, sounding proud and tall.

-I can ask you the same question- Lu replied, before getting another punch in the stomach. God, that guy was strong. And he didn't know where he was or how to free himself. The situation couldn't get any better.

-I ask questions, you answer, are we clear? - he said, after grabbing Lu's hair and pulling his head to an awkward angle, breathing all over his face.

He shouldn't have saved him, he turned out to be a real ass.

-Who are you? - he asked again, letting him go. Lu dangled a little from his chains. He was close to reply "Father Christmas" but decided to shut up. His enemy seemed unstable enough already.

-Shall we play a game? I guess and you tell me yes or no- he said, starting to circle around Lu. He needed to think of a way out and fast. Wait a sec, the electric shock he felt as he came into the building, the force that coerced him into his human form...had he circled the building with black salt? Had he fallen into such a stupid trick?

-You are not wearing a uniform, but that doesn't mean anything- even Lu, with his fogged mind, could see the amused smile on the other's lips. Was he at the hand of a sadist? Was he finding pleasure and fun in Lu's pain?

-I know for a fact that the Containment Squad have a Shadow with them. And I had the pleasure of seeing him or her in action today. Now, Shadows, like Demons and the Dark Elves, are creature coming from the Primordial Darkness, so, to stop one from using magic or spells, a circle of cursed salt is the most effective way, and, guess what-

-A rhetorical pause that is not achieving anything- Lu said, shaking his head.

-Maybe not, but you have probably realised yourself that you are not getting out of this building easily- his captor replied, with a jolly smile on his face. For a moment he went away, before coming back with a rickety chair that, surprisingly, managed to hold on under his weight dropping heavily on it.

His captor crossed both his legs and folded his arms to his chest and said:

-So, where is it? -

-Where is what? - could there be a silver lining of being captured? Maybe he could figure out what the Foreign Contaminants wanted? The Church said their aim was to destroy the harmony, to bring on chaos and destruction in the country of the Heroes. But maybe their aim was something else entirely. Many of them had been living among the natives long before this whole mess started.

-The power source that created the fog- he growled, bending forward, opening himself up again, with both hands now on his knees. His body looked stronger now than that evening, when his power was out of control.

-What are you talking about, the fog just fell- Lu replied, starting to panic. He was at the mercy of a crazy person. If there was a reason why the fog fell, a catalyst of sort, surely the government's scientists would have found it, finally reopening the channels of communication with the rest of the world.

-Don't tell me you believe the whole "Heroes' protection" crap- his enemy hissed, standing back up again. Did he outrage him or something? He had no idea where the fog came from, not that he had thought much about it. He just always thought it happened, like the rain and the snow. No, he didn’t believe the Gods had time to spend of their tiny little country.

-You are a well-trained soldier, pretending not to know things- he said, smirking, but avoiding looking Lu in the eyes. He was probably thinking of ways to get the information out of his. Bad luck, he didn't know anything.

-I am not pretending. The fog has no source. If you want to find a cause you will need to find it somewhere else, maybe in a mad house- he replied, pronouncing all his words as clearly as possible to spell it out for that stupid little brat.

His enemy started to circle around him again.

-Why are you protecting them? You are a Shadow and for as much as they seem to like you now, who do you think they will be going after they, or you, kill us all? -

Lu didn't reply. It struck a chord. Laws are made, and they are as easily unmade.

-It's my duty to my country. It's an honour to serve my fellow countrymen- Lu said out loud, repeating sentences he had learnt almost by heart since the moment he was recruited. But, in that very moment, dangling from a chain, they tumbled out of his mouth broken and empty. Were they going to protect him from the next punch? Were they going to protect him when his captor was going to inevitably lose patience with him and knife his heart out? Only reasonable after he had killed five of theirs.

Lu was officially scared.

And then a phone rang.

The young man stopped right in front of Lu and, looking straight in his eyes, almost without blinking, he took the phone out of his pocket.

-What's wrong? - . For a wannabe soldier, he needed to improve his game as his facial expressions betrayed his emotions far too much. His face was getting longer and longer and that frown on his forehead was so deep you could put plants in it.

-It might not all be lost...I have a surprise for you. Come to the abandoned factory- and he hanged up before taking a seat again on his chair.

-And now we wait- but he wasn't smiling anymore-

-For Godot? - why was he was feeling almost hysterical? He wanted to laugh his heart out.

-So powerful and clever. You are going to be very useful to us- he said, crossing his arms, looking at him again with a strange light in his eyes.

For a moment both of them stood still and silent. Hopefully his mates were going to notice his absence and come to look for him. Even though he had the fame of always wandering away by himself and go off on a tangent. Even though they were probably extremely busy with the attack, the victims and the perpetrators. Surely at least David was going to notice it and come looking for him.

Or not. But also by the time the night came, maybe the nymphs were going to come and help him. Maybe Leerye was going to come and help. If she could remember his name.

-Where do you come from anyway? - he said to his captor. Maybe he could also get more information. If he was going to break free, he could find the brat again.

And kill him.

-Does it matter? I can't go back now anyway- he replied, looking at him from down up, showing his teeth a little. Talking about such a topic was making his enemy angry and it was probably not a good idea in his own predicament. But hey, it passed the time.

-But once the fog is gone, you will be able to- Lu said in a whisper, arriving at the real conclusion of why he was dangling from a chain. He studied the face of the young man now, looking at those tense facial features. He mentioned the source of power that created the fog. Had they been looking for it at the Sanctuary?

-I am sure I am going to die here. In this god forsaken country- he growled, shaking his head. He was angry, Lu saw the ripples in his vision. Was anger triggering his transformations?

-I was on my way home, I almost got on the ferry out of here, when the fog fell. When the way out shut- his captor said, looking for once at the floor. Lu had seen that expression before. Wasn't that the same look in his own eyes after destroying a family of monsters?

-What's your name? - he shouldn't have asked. Putting a name to a face he was meant to hate only made things worse. Knowing the names of his targets always made him queasy afterwards.

-Danni- a nice, normal name. No, it really wasn't a good idea. When the time would come for Lu to capture him and bring him to justice, when the time would come for Lu to see the young man killed during the Day the Curtain Fell ceremony, it was going to hurt. The feeling of having water right at his throat made him lost his breath.

-Lu-

-Like the loo? - the brat said. Gosh, what a stupid joke, how many times had he heard it since he started to understand the world around him?

Where the hell are you big David? Why are you not already here to save me?

-No, like king Luis 14, my mother had a thing for monarchs- he said, simply. It was the truth. For as much as he wanted to get rid of his mother, of the image of her panicked eyes when he had liquefied the first time, even his own stupid name was a reminder that she was always with him, right down in his mind. When he closed his eyes, he could still see her, screaming and crying at him.

-Dead? - Danni said, looking at him, frowning.

-Yes, you might need to go back to revise a little history- Lu said, trying to deflect the questions, hoping that Danni was going to get the message that no, he didn't want to talk about it and that yes, please change the subject.

-I mean your mum- no, he clearly was not a subtle creature and had not taken in any signal Lu had been dropping.

-No idea- Lu replied, shaking his head. He could have asked Isamund, she would have just needed to say a word to her archivists, and they would have found out for her what had happened to Mr and Mrs Kusack. But Lu had never asked. She abandoned him. His dad abandoned him. If they didn't want anything to do with him, he didn't want anything to do with them. At least, rationally. But, somehow, it still hurt.

-How? - Danni asked, frowning. Was it so difficult to figure out that his biological family was a disaster? But he had another one, Mary Sol treated him like a son. David and Scarlett were friends...the past was in the past.

-You don't want to know- Lu replied, shaking his head. It was the stuff of his nightmares and no, it was not something he wanted to share with his captor.

Sudden, heavy footsteps made Lu's skin crawl. A new shadow appeared in the room, a young woman, maybe the same age as Danni, around twenty years old or less, and she did not look happy: her round, freckled face was tense and contracted; her ginger hair was originally in a neat pony tail, and was now all over the place. And then he added up a couple of other things: the right hand sticking out of the sleeve of her coat was covered in greenish scales and both her ears had the top part cut off. She was a demon. And a demon with some strength judging by how quickly she got Danni on the floor.

-You dumbass bastard! We were so worried about you! - she growled. Not good. Lu would have given everything to have his powers back. Everything changed with a demon right in front of him.

-Oh, are we going soft Meg, aren’t we? - Danni said, with a smug smile. Friends? You can't be friends with a demon!

-We just lost five of ours, it is not the time to go out and be idiots- she growled, before standing up again.

-I might be an idiot, but I got the one responsible for it- Danni replied, pointing with a wide, theatrical gesture to Lu.

-You are welcome- Danni sang, bowing dramatically.

The demon noticed Lu for the first time. She looked at him with eyes almost shut while she walked towards him. Then, suddenly, she waved her hand around as if to get rid of a bug and, just like that, Lu's body moved out of its own volition, bending his head up in a painful contortion. Then, even with all his efforts to try to prevent it, his mouth opened wide.

-On with the black salt- she said.

-As you wish, your majesty- Danni's sarcastic voice replied.

Lu caught a glimpse of the shimmering black salt before it cascaded in his open mouth. For one moment everything was still. Then his body went up in flames.


	5. Foreign Contaminants

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danni visits Lu in the Rebellion's infirmary and makes an upsetting discovery. 
> 
> Lu gets blackmailed into a mission he doesn't like one bit.

Why could nobody ever give him a break? He had driven two towns away to go to a supermarket where nobody had ever seen him before, had managed to snuggle the supplies in the base without anybody noticing and cooked for fifty people. And now, right when he had thrown his tired body on the bed, somebody was frantically knocking on the door. Danni slowly stood up, as slowly as possible, and went to open the door.

'Morning' Meg. Of course. Who else was going to be so stubborn? She looked so happy and energetic. What the actual hell.

'What's up?' Danni replied, too tired to think something funny to answer. He had been so involved in other aspects of their life in the colony, from fighting to training to even healing, that he had forgotten how to cook for so many people.

'He woke up' she said, with a look of challenge in her eyes.

Shock. A cold and then hot shiver went down his spine. And then he pushed past Meg and rushed forward towards the infirmary.

'I didn't think you cared that much' she shouted, mocking him.

He didn't care, not really, but it had been such a bother to keep their base safe after his arrival. The Agathodaemons, the good demons using their light aura to shield them all from the lunatics at the Church of the Heroes and the army, were working extra hard to repel the searching parties and the spells aimed against their barriers. He had to travel so much further than normal to make sure that nobody recognised him. And everybody had been so tense and jumpy, reading on the papers and listening to the radio commentators who were saying how their enemies were more determined than ever to find who had kidnapped their Shadow. Well, they had originally said "comrade", "friend", "colleague" but even an idiot with some basic knowledge of current affairs would have figured it out: they were so keen on having their prisoner back because of the sheer powers he held. Danni had seen him in action, he had seen the claws coming out of his companions' shadows. He was their secret weapon. And, if they were lucky, he was going to become theirs.

He opened the infirmary's door. It was a long room, with five or six beds and a few cabinets with medicines they had been able to scavenge. It was quiet and aseptic.

The only person in the infirmary that afternoon was Lu. Lu and his damn nymph. She had appeared a few evenings before and declared she was not going to leave till he woke up. It hadn't been enough to tell her he was in a coma and most likely was not going to wake up that easily, but she kept on coming back, evening after evening, sitting near Lu's face, glowing away in the darkness of the night. It was sweet. He had to admit that it was sweet, and maybe, after all, she had managed to do some sort of magic to wake him up.

'Shush, he is back to sleep' Leerye said, putting her little index finger in front of her mouth. Danni took a chair and sat next to the bed. He felt at a loss for words for the first time in a long time. It had been his fault if Lu had ended up in the infirmary, but how was he to know that the black salt was going to have such a strong reaction? only wanted to make sure that his powers were not going to be back for a while, enough to take him to the base and then have the boss decide what he wanted to do with him. But no, it had all gone downhill. Right when he had thought he had finally proven himself to everyone that he was not just a brat. No, he had capture one of the biggest assets of their enemy. And then almost killed him. But he looked so peaceful now, sleeping quietly, his chest rising at a normal, slow speed.

He was about to stretch his hand to touch Lu's when Leerye startled him by saying:

'I think I have met you before'

Maybe it was true what they say about nymphs: they were a bit stupid.

'Well, you did see me here last night' and the night before and the one before that. But nobody else could know. He made her swear to the Gods of the night that she was never going to say his little secret to anyone. But, probably, she had forgotten about that too.

'Silly, I meant before coming here' she replied, giggling away, hiding her lips behind her right hand as if she had said something dirty. It was like talking to a child.

'You must be mistaken, before you appeared I...' he didn't know how to end his sentence. How was he to say that he didn't know that her specie existed for real? He thought it one of those legends in kids' books.

She flew closer to his nose and said:

'My memories are very jammed, can you help me?' she said, before stretching her little hand to touch his forehead before he could stop her.

Suddenly, the world around him was gone. He felt like floating. Gravity had disappeared and he was now weightless. Everything was dark for a moment, but he didn't feel scared, not really, there was some kind of strange peace. Then, suddenly, little fragments of light started to flap around his vision, slowly composing themselves in actual pictures, static like photographs. Were these Leerye's memories? Intriguing. Even more intriguing were the pictures of the magical creatures he had never seen, like the dragons, the unicorns...and a Shadow captured right in the moment of liquefying. It was horrible and yet he could not move his eyes from that photograph. Lu's face relaxed, so happy as his features melted in a dark shadow on the floor. He looked a long way away from the young man Danni had captured, the man in the line of duty.

Another picture brought his thoughts back to the present and then another. And then what Leerye said started to make sense: in that last picture, he saw himself. He was in the woods, tied up by dark claws, kneeling in front of a Lu with a tired yet triumphant expression on his face.

And the scary thing was that he didn't have any memory of it.

He shook his head, sending Leerye flying away.

'I don't remember any of that' he said, looking at the nymph flying back to her place near Lu with a rather crossed look on her face.

'What did you see?' She said, letting herself fall on the pillow.

'I was in the woods, and he stopped me and...' he started to say, his eyes going around the floor but not really looking. Lu had captured him. Was he transforming? Had he been so out of control that his comrades had lost any hope to retrieve him and let him go out, hoping that nobody would catch him? And Lu could have brought him to the authorities. Hadn't he said that it was his duty or some bullshit of that sort? What the hell was he playing at?

Heavy footsteps entered the room. It was Meg and Captain Thomas Mallory, the big boss, boss of the place. He had been part of the army of the country, he had lived peacefully with his wife for so long. And then the fog came, and he had lost everything. He had gone into hiding, losing contact with the person he loved who, in the best scenario, had been put in prison. But he hadn't lost hope, after all if it hadn't been for him, they would have never found the base and would have never come up with the idea of using the Agathodaemons' powers to conceal it. And they had accepted without any hesitation, after all they were the most peaceful and serene of all creatures, right? And they were hunted too, just like all the rest of them. Because they did not fit in the bigger picture of the fucking Harmony.

But the big boss, boss was not serene, not at all. Everything in his demeanour screamed nerves, from the stiff muscles to the closed fists.

Danni stood up, surprising himself as he had never done that, even though everybody else in the community did so whenever the captain entered the room. But he didn't bow his head.

'Sir your moustache is vibrating with anger' Meg said. The general assumption was that Meg always said whatever she wanted because she couldn't help it, being a demon. But Danni was convinced that she had made her life mission to make his life a misery. He gave her a side glance as he found a little cheeky smile on her face.

'So, I hear that our guest has come back to the land of the living' Thomas said, without any expression on his face. He had such a good poker face.

'He is sleeping now' Danni replied, crossing his arms to his chest.

I have a debt of honour with him now, I am not going to let you touch him, he couldn't stop thinking. And yet he knew that he didn't stand a chance against Thomas Mallory. He wasn't sure what kind of creature he was. But his powers were deadly. He could make you think whatever he wanted.

'Once he is awake and completely aware of himself, let me know immediately' was the answer. It was an order, one that Danni was not meant to ignore if he wanted to live.

Right that moment, when the Captain was rotating on his heels to make his way out, Danni realised what was going on: The Captain wished for Lu to never wake up. The easiest of things: the enemy wouldn't have him, and they wouldn't have to try to keep his powers in check.

'What is the plan sir?' Danni said, stopping him, shaking because it was not fair, Lu didn't deserve to die because Meg and himself had been stupid.

'You will be told if necessary' he said, not looking him in the eye as he left the room.

Danni let himself fall down on the chair, acutely aware that Meg was still in the room.

'Did I lose control recently? ' he asked with the sternest voice he managed, keeping on looking at the sleeping form on the bed. How could he keep on sleeping like that? Wake up dude! I need answers!

'Yes, a little while ago' she said simply, as if talking about the weather.

'And you didn't come to help me?' he knew that they were those kinds of people that are sort of friends but sort of not. Still, it hurt. None of his so-called friends came to help him, and he had to rely on the kindness of a stranger.

'When all the security measures failed to keep you stable and you left the building, we were under strict orders not to go and help you, as you might have already attracted people's attention' she said, still standing behind him. She had the decency not to get any closer. Danni nodded, letting his shoulders slump a little. Yeah, that's right, we are not actually a community, are we? The moment one is in deep trouble, they can go and die. Great.

The loneliness strangled the air in his lungs. He gave himself a punch on the leg to distract his brain.

'But you somehow managed to come back to us all in one piece, so all good no?' she said, with a jolly note in her voice.

He didn't tell her that Lu was the reason for such miracle.

She left and Danni lifted his eyes again to Lu.

He was saved by his enemy when not even his friends were interested in saving him.

This time he did squeeze Lu's hand before retreating rapidly in his room.

Lu had never believed much in the idea of the light at the end of the tunnel and yet he was floating in the darkness, chasing a white light in the horizon. It was an interesting sensation to float like that, feeling so weightless, even more so than when he was a liquefied shadow.

'Lu, is that you?' Isamund's voice made him smile immediately. Was it possible that the white light was Isamund reaching out to him? Wait, what was the last thing he remembered? Lots of pain, lots of it. It had made his blood boil. Also, why was he so surprised to hear Isamund's voice? Doesn't Death have the eyes of your loved ones after all?

'I am so worried about you Lu, where are you?' she sounded genuinely worried. Had he been away for that long? Had they not rescued him yet? His heart sank. In what sort of mess had he ended up in?

'I am not sure, the last thing I remember was being held in the' and then his voice cracked, as if he was on the phone and the signal was gone. He brought his hand to his throat.

'Lu, can you hear me? Lu please...come ba...'

And, just like that, the light was gone.

For all intense and purposes, Isamund was alone in her house. She would have looked like some agitated young lady, pacing up and down the nicely decorated living room.

'You are going to make a hole in the pavement if you continue like that' a deep voice broke the heavy silence in the room. But it wasn't Isamund's.

'Tell me something useful, tell me why the connection broke' she growled. After days and days spent trying to find him to help the Containment Forces in locating their best asset, she had finally found him. For a moment, for such a fleeting moment she had felt completely happy and relieved. He was alive, he sounded well. She just needed to see him. Needed to tell him that she missed him. Her hands itched with the need to touch him.

But the connection didn't last long enough to figure out where he was.

'There is something blocking it, they have a barrier of some kind, you are lucky you got that far' the voice said, so stern that Isamund had been very closed to protest that she was not a child to be told off. She was a leader of her people, he couldn't speak to her like that. Not anymore anyway. She was in charge and he was dead.

She let herself fall on the couch, the nice night blue couch, her favourite colour. She bent forward and took her head in her hands. Hopefully he was going to be ok. Hopefully she was going to see him again. And she was going to finally swallow her pride and kiss him.

When he woke up, he didn't open his eyes immediately. No, that was a rookie mistake, he needed the time to figure out what was going on and, most importantly, where he was. He was almost certain that he was lying somewhere, he could feel the mattress and a couple of springs right in his shoulder. No strange smells, no wind on his face.

He was in some sort of infirmary, right?

No voice. No noise of any sort. Was he alone? A moment of panic: how many days had he been out of the world?

When he finally opened his eyes, he realised that no, he was not on his own: an older man was sitting down on a chair next to his bed. He looked like the kind of person you don't want to mess round with, with the big scar on his left cheek, his penetrating eyes and two strong arms. He wasn't a young man anymore, but it was clear that he could make you lose conscience with a good punch.

'So, you are awake' he said with a deep voice that almost shock Lu, so used to the silence.

'Yes' well, obviously, but he needed to regain his mental faculties before saying anything he would regret.

'Do you know where you are?' he asked again. Lu blinked a couple of times, wiggling his toes, trying to get his brain going as he still felt sleepy.

'Yes' he was almost sure that he was in the enemy base, but he wanted the other one to confess it. He saw the older man smiling a little while shaking his head. Speaking of mix signals.

'Good, I like smart people like you. It will be very easy for you then to fulfil your task' was it just Lu's impression or his voice sounded ominous?

'What do you want me to do?' Lu said, keeping his voice as monotone as possible while his heart raced.

'You will find the source of the fog and destroy it' was the answer, delivered by looking straight in Lu's eyes without blinking.

'Why would I do that? ' he replied, deliberate leaving out the how.

'Because we have your adoptive mother' the older man said curving his lips slightly to the left. Lu heard the thump of his heart falling out of his chest.

Wait, maybe this man in front of me is bluffing. After all they might be more than happy to use my powers. Yes, it's a joke.

'I thought you might think so' the man said. Ah, he was a mind reader, still not enough to decide what creature he was, many had that as a side power. Under Lu's distressed gaze, he took out a little radio from his pocket and simply said:

'Bring her in'

Right in that very second, two figures appeared in the room: a tall creature covered in a white faceless mask holding the handcuffs on Maria Sol's hands. Lu struggled to keep his face composed in front of her: she had a black eye and a bruise on her right cheekbone, her long hair had been cut short, so short he could see her skull and her shoes taken away from her. But her eyes were still looking focus and strong, no traces of tears on her face. When she spotted Lu, she tried to speak but the white cloth gagging her impeded any coherent sound.

'Enough' the older man said. And the two figures disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

Lu hadn't even realised that, at the shock, he had sat up straight on the bed.

'You help me, and I will let her go' the man said, smiling.

'What guarantees do I have? ' Lu replied. He was in enemy territory. And they had the guts to take Mary Sol. He took a deep breath as he needed to calm down and play his cards right.

'None, you will need to trust me' the man replied

'I don't know your name' Lu replied, huffing.

'Captain Mallory, at your service' he said before standing up and bow to him.

'I shall wait till you recover fully, then you will be off'

'I could make my way straight back to my people'

'You will have two partners that will let me know if you do anything unexpected. The order to kill the woman will go out immediately' he said, shooting him a dark look before leaving the room.

Lu let himself fall on the pillow again. He hoped Isamund was going to contact him again via his dreams. If someone could, she was the one able to save both him and Mary Sol.

He was left alone the rest of the day. God, it had been so boring, keeping on thinking about anything and nothing, with the mental impossibility of forgetting Mary Sol's face. Her face had been so brave, she was unshakable, but there was no saying what was going to happen next. And her family was going to be so worried.

'Hi'

Lu jumped straight up. He hadn't realised how late it was, or that someone had got inside the infirmary. Especially someone like Leerye.

'You look better' she said with a smile.

-What are you doing here? - he said, keeping his face straight, but he was immensely relieved to see a friendly face.

She puffed her cheeks up and pouted for a moment before saying:

'I was worried, I have been here every night'

'Why?' maybe there was no point in keeping on asking, after all who was to say what went on in a Nymph's mind? He couldn't understand why she would relegate herself in that stupid place when she could have gone free with the others of her kind in their world of the night, where nobody would touch them. But he couldn't help feeling a little touched.

'I don't know, you are funny' she said, before giggling away.

And right there, when that sweet sound reminded him of Mary Sol's youngest grandchild, Lu had an idea.

'Could I ask you to do something for me? '

'That depends' she replied with a very serious expression.

'On what? ' he said, a little more grumpily that he would have wanted. But he was so tired of being under ransom.

-If you come back and race with me- she said, standing up from the pillow, as if she was ready to go any time. Lu missed their races. Missed the dragons and the magical creatures. Somehow, it all seemed like a distant memory.

'Yes, sure, when things are a bit easier' he said, this time he was not able to hide a smile.

'Promise? 'she said, she said, frowning a little, clearly not believing him.

He smiled and nodded.

'What do you want me to do?'

'Go to 11 Pinecone Road, in Main Town and tell the family that Mary Sol is still alive, that Lu is on it and hopefully soon she will be free, but they need to keep it for themselves, it's a secret' he said closing his fists. He knew that they were probably incredibly worried about her and if he could bring at least a small solace to his adopted family, it was all worth it.

'Ok, I hope I can remember all of that' she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and went away via a vent.

He discovered who his partners were going to be only a couple of days later when the nice Agathodaemon treating him visited one last time and deliberated that he had recovered and was ready to be discharged. As he stepped out of the infirmary, Lu found himself facing a brick wall. Literary. The door of the infirmary opened on a tunnel, one of the many that made the secret location of the Foreign Contaminants. It reminded him faintly of the Catacombs outside the Capitol, with the smell of moss and humidity, but the bricks had a somehow more modern look to them. How had they found a place like that?

He followed the doctor around. On their trip they bumped into some of the inhabitants of the place: he saw a couple of night elves, with their two horizontal lines made of extra skin showing on their forehead, a demon who skin had turn completely red, a tiny baby banshee with her mum and was that really a harpy? The half woman half bird hissed at him as they passed by.

'Don't stare' the doctor whispered.

Lu lowered his gaze immediately but smiling to himself. He had always thought that harpies were only legends. He was going to tell that to Scarlett one day and she was going to freak out as she had officially won the bet, she had ongoing with David.

Tom Mallory's office was a large en-suite room

There were three chairs in front of the big desk, two of which were already taken by the two least likely people to be his partners: Danni and the lady demon. As they heard him get in, they both turned around enough to look at him. She smiled, showing entirely her slightly elongated teeth, but he knew that it was a natural behaviour for a demon wishing to impose her dominance. Danni was instead just staring at him, as if he had never seen him before. There was a bit of a frown on his forehead. Ah, he was looking concerned. Now. He hadn't been that concerned when he chucked all that salt down his throat.

'Take a seat' Tom Mallory said, still sitting at his desk with his elbows on the nice, smooth surface and the tips of his hands touching each other.

Lu didn't say a word in reply and did as he was told. He was a soldier, he was good at following orders.

'So, now that we are all here, I can declare officially that the three of you are the ones chosen to find out the source of the fog. The survival of this community depends on the success of this mission' he proclaimed, sitting tall at his desk, with his broad chest open wide. For a moment he looked like a gloating turkey.

'Why us?' the lady demon said, balancing on the two back legs of the chair. She seemed bored with the whole situation. Lu saw the lizard hand, out in the open because of the short sleeve t-shirt she was wearing.

'More importantly why him? ' Danni growled, pointing a finger directly at Lu but keeping his eyes firmly on the Captain, who didn't not even flinch at the aggressive behaviour and, with the most monotone voice Lu had ever heard, said:

'The two of you are the strongest assets in our community, and Mr Kussack's powers are just incommensurable. If there is a team that can solve the mystery is the three of you'

Lu studied Tom's face. For as much as he was trying to keep it as steady and firm as possible, he couldn't hide the faint glimmer of hope that was sparkling in his eyes. Did he really think that there was a reason for the fog? A source? Well, everything does need to come from somewhere, right? At the end of the day the Church was convinced that it came from the Heroes to punish the Foreign Contaminants. He wished he could liquefy again without any harm coming to Mary Sol, take over his shadow and listen to Captain Mallory's inner thoughts.

'Where do we start?' Lu finally said, getting down to business with a matter of fact tone.

'The laws of magic say that a great power needs a strong source. We have identified four Churches of the Heroes around the country that could have the facilities to hide said source as they are the biggest centres besides the Sanctuary' Tom said, before taking a map from the first drawer of his desk and passing it on to them. At a glance, Lu recognised the coastal town of Kohan, Orte smacked in the centre, Neuses and Feltham in the mountains. They were all circled in red.

'You could start from there' Tom said, letting himself fall back on the chair.

'What are we looking for though? Is it a secret spell? A stone? ' Lu asked. He needed more details if Tom wanted him to be effective. It was all well and good to go around looking for something, but how do you know when you are in front of it?

'He doesn't know' Meg said, smirking to herself. Now even Lu was finding it annoying.

Lu took a deep breath. He didn't have time to mess around. He could find things, but he needed to know what to look for.

'You will know when you see it. Something as strong as to create this permanent, deadly fog will be easily recognisable' Tom said, keeping his face straight.

'Ok then, let's go' he said, standing up. He was just getting frustrated, his own body was aching to go as it appeared more and more clear that they were not going to get much more out of Captain Mallory.

'How are we traveling to these places, people might see me on trains' Lu started to but Danni slamming his right hand on the table stopped him.

'We are not travelling by train'

'He has a thing about trains' Meg whispered to Lu, turning entirely to face him. She was smiling naturally now, not showing the entire length of her canines. Lu couldn't stop himself from thinking of Dave and Scarlett. Her joke was kind of funny. Then Lu got curious. What had happened to Danni on a train?

His own mind was making everything a murky mess in his brain. Maybe the Agathodaemon was wrong and he was still recovering, his brain damaged from the black salt. He took a deep breath. There was no point in wasting time thinking about someone else's problems when he had so many of his own.

'And she gets scared of snakes in the toilets, so yep, very sensible' Danni mattered, letting himself fall down on the chair. He looked defeated, with all his muscles slumped like that and his gaze fixed on the corner of the table.

'Well as you are making friends already, you can continue your conversation outside of this office and start getting ready' Captain Mallory said, shushing them out of his office with the back of his hand.

It was going to be a long trip.


	6. The first enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danni, Lu and Meg continue working through their uneasy comradeship as they face their first enemy.

Lu felt very strange about the whole thing. He knew that a good team is made of people who know and trust each other. David took a bullet for him for goodness sake. And now he was supposed to work with people he barely knew and, on top of that, who nearly killed him. He was not going to take a bullet for them if the situation was going to go pear shaped. He was going to get up and run. Or liquefy and run, whatever.

He had followed Danni to his room as Meg had insisted on her having five minutes of "me time" before having to spend every single minute of her life with them till mission accomplished.

The room was Spartan like Lu's but with a few more concessions: there was a poster of Blade Runner on the wall near the bed, the chair at the desk was a rotating, plush chair that didn't actually hurt your bottom when sitting on it and two pillows on the bed instead of one. But what got Lu was the picture in the wooden frame standing proud on the bed side table: it was a picture of Danni from a few years back, with two other ladies either side of him, clearly shorter but definitely family, they all had the same eyes and smile: they were his mum and sister.

Danni took a rucksack out of the wardrobe and started to shove in it everything he could find pants, trousers, the important thick socks because you never know. Lu was looking at him silently, biting his lower lip down as to not say that he was packing all wrong and that he could have save much more space by putting his stuff properly in.

-Don't you have something to pack? - Danni asked, avoiding eye contact. Again, with the angry look. Wait a minute, wasn't he supposed to be the angry one?

-When you captured me, I didn't have anything but myself- Lu replied, feeling a faint smile appearing on his face. Was he really making him that uncomfortable?

-Ah right, sorry about that- Lu was finding Danni's face extremely fascinating: he seemed unable to hide any emotions, turning gradually redder and redder. If he had known that when he had him as a prisoner, he would have acted differently. The young man in front of him didn't know what he was doing, he wasn't the great evil master mind Lu had thought he was.

-No worries, I guess we are enemies after all- Lu replied, lowering his gaze.

Ah, you dog, stopping adding insult to injuries, he could picture Dave's roaring laugh.

-Yes- Danni said, before shoving some more clothes in the bag impatiently.

-Well, regardless, I didn't have anything to do with the old lady's kidnapping- again with the not looking him in the eye. Lu was starting to have his doubts that the young man was one of the best resources they had in that bunker. Maybe the harpy would have been a more suitable ally in such an important quest.

Suddenly, Lu had an idea. Danni seemed easy enough to open up, maybe he was going to tell him directly how to find Mary Sol. And then even help him out rescuing her. Lu only needed to play his cards right and get his trust. Excellent.

-They thought about it when you were unconscious- he added, closing his bag.

-Well then, I guess we better be quick in finding the source, so we can all be free from this mess- Lu said, faking as much optimism as he could, before extending his arm and hand for Danni to shake. That was the right way to officialise their partnership, right? Danni looked as Lu's hand before growling and storming out of the room. Great. David was his sociable part, where was he when he needed him to coax someone into being a friend with him?

Everything was ready to go, but they didn't allow him to get out of their cave on his own. Oh no, they were a little naive, but not stupid.

-Sorry kid, just in case you get back to your people and spill the beans out- the Agathodaemon said, showing him a piece of cloth. The blindfold was made of some kind of itchy material that was going to leave some red mark.

A rough hand took hold of his, steading his pace and preventing him from falling and hugging the floor.

-Just try to follow me- it was Danni's voice.

-Hay hay, captain sweaty hands- Lu replied. He heard Meg giggling next to him and he almost giggle himself. Operation friends with benefits was starting.

-Ja, Ja, Shadowman is getting cocky- Danni replied. Even under the blind fold Lu could see that, under the annoyed tone, there was a smile.

They walked for a long time before they finally stopped to take it off. It took him a minute to adjust to the light in the forest before noticing the small red Ford Fiesta parked in the middle of nowhere.

-Is this going to be our mighty stead? - he said, not able to keep the sarcasm anymore.

-If you see any other cars, do let me know Shadowman- Danni replied, starting to put their stuff away.

As they loaded the booth of Danni's car with all the weapons and supplies that they could fit in, they started discussing where to go first.

-If would make sense to go to the church in Kohan, the source might be as close as possible to the actual fog- Meg said, lounging on the back seat as the two of them did the hard work. She had covered her reptilian arm with a long shirt with sleeves puffy in the middle so as to hide the scales on her arm and tight at the wrist, with a white glove on her fingers, so that there was no chance of people getting a glimpse of what was underneath. Only the slightly longer teeth were on show, as she had combed her hair so that it covered her ears and, apparently, her tail was retractable.

-Nope, we are not going to Kohan- Danni replied. There seemed to be some topics that made his jump so quickly on the defensive. Trains. Kohan. What else was in his past that was scarring him like that? Not a friend, Lu had to remind himself. He and the demon girl were Foreign Contaminants. They needed to be eradicated. The preachers said so. Suddenly, the memory of Danni's voice saying "they will come after you when they are done with us" stroke his mind like lightning. Was that really a possibility? After all the dirty work that they had made him do?

-I vote for Kohan- Meg replied, completely ignoring Danni's comment.

-Me too-Lu said, automatically, not thinking about what he was saying. But it was a wise choice as a starting point, being a coastal town, it had been affected so much more than other centres by the arrival of the fog.

Danni closed the booth with such strength that Lu was happy to have moved his hands in time. He looked at Lu with such wide eyes that Lu feared they were going to pop out of their socket any time soon. He was angry. Funny how quickly the nice moment they shared on the way to the car had disappeared.

-Democracy rules- Meg giggled, putting her head out of the window.

-Only when it's more convenient for you. I know you want to try the pies there- Danni replied, eyes locked on Lu's for a moment longer, before turning around and heading to the driver's seat.

Once everybody was seated, Meg bent forward to put her face in between the two seats in the front.

-So....polar bears-

-What? - both Danni and Lu said at the same time, looking at each other for a second before Danni went back to the key and started the engine off.

Meg giggled to herself before saying:

-It's an ice breaker, the silence was getting embarrassing and I stopped it-

With a sight, Danni turned on the car radio and, together, they started signing out loud "the Devil you know". Lu knew the words as it was one of those songs impossible to escape. Everybody at the station was singing it. Meg have him a little slap on the back and said:

-Come on, sing with us-

-I can't sing- he replied. He was sure he was the closest thing to tone deaf in the universe.

-It's not as if we can sing- she replied, letting herself fall back down on the passenger seat before starting to sing again.

Danni suddenly gave him a light punch on the leg.

Lu replied with one himself, as he started to mumble some of the words he still remembered of the song.

Danni gave him two light punches on same spot on his leg.

Lu the replied with three.

Danni continue with one and Lu with two.

Danni stopped suddenly. Lu looked at him as he drove. There was a faint smile on his lips.

It took them a good four hours, excluding the many breaks they had to take as Meg insisted on checking any single station they passed by, to arrive to Kohan. So, unless Danni had deliberately driven around without following a sensible direction, the Foreign Contaminants' base was somewhere in the Midlands' forest. Great news!

They had parked in a quiet residential road that looked nice enough for a deprived area: some little houses with fake flowers at the window and paint peeling off from the wall, a few blocks of flats with clothes lined outside on the balconies, maybe in the hope that the salty air could help the drying process. It was interesting though how there was nobody around. The road was wide and there was a little park near the flats. As it was a relatively warm evening, why were there no kids out and about with their bikes? Where were the dog walkers?

-Is it me or this place is creepy? - Meg said, as Lu put his thick sunglasses and cap on hoping to be less conspicuous than Danni, who had pulled the hood of his hoodie as down as possible.

-Nope, it's not just you. Let's go-

-Shouldn't we find a shelter and think of a proper plan before setting off? - Lu protested. He was starting to get a bit tired of his military training not being taken into consideration.

-That is exactly where we are going- Danni said, flashing a confident smile for the first time in a while. He seemed to know the place very well, not checking a map once.

-Have you lived here before? - Lu said, catching up with him and maintaining his fast pace.

-Maybe- he replied, without slowing down a second. He was a man on a mission.

-If we are to work as a team, it would be very considerate of you to share more info- but Danni didn't seem to pay the slightest attention. He grinned for a moment before turning into another side road, another little dodgy alleyway, another part of the world completely devoid of people. Lu squeezed the gun hidden in his belt. It was an old machine, only the Gods knew where the hell the Foreign Contaminants found it. But it gave him a small sense of security and control.

-Do you think he has completely lost it? - Meg whispered in his ear, making him jump. How had she managed to sneak up on him like that?

-Maybe- he replied. They quickly shuffled forward to catch up with Danni as he rang the doorbell of an anonymous house in a row of back to back houses, with some paint falling off the walls.

-Are we going at random now? - Lu hissed at Danni. This whole escapade was filling him with so much confidence.

-Shut up and watch me work- Danni replied, without looking at him again.

Suddenly, someone on the other side unbolted the door. A short Humpty Dumpty look alike appeared, with a big bold head and huge eyes becoming even bigger the moment they focused on Danni.

-You shouldn't be here- he hissed, his face turning more and more white.

-Let me in Frank- Danni replied, rolling his eyes.

The man looked jumpy. He turned around left and the right and, after taking a deep breath, he opened the door of his house a little bit more to let them in.

-Apologies for the intrusion sir- Lu said after a quick exam of the house. The main door led immediately to the living room, a simple and anonymous square room with a couple of black, leathery sofas, a TV in the corner and a few books stuck casually on a little table against the wall. It almost looked like the man didn't want to accumulate too many possessions in case he needed to run away quickly.

-And you brought the traitor with you? - The man said, directed at Danni who had made himself comfortable on one of the sofas, followed by Meg. The man was getting more and more agitated, white leaving space for two bright red spots on his. Considering his body mass, was he going to have a heart attack or something? They didn't have time for that.

-I am a... -Lu was about to start some long-winded explanation but then his eyes were caught by the front page of the discarded paper near the telly. It was some sort of local newspaper, the Times of Kohan, and right there in the front page a picture of him, of Lu, was smiling back at him. As he read the title, a cold shiver went down Lu's spine. The title read: "Local priest: Lu Kussack is a traitor".

Lu skimmed read the article. It seemed that the priest of the local Church of the Heroes was trying to convince local people that the government shouldn't have spent money in finding Lu because he was a Shadow, a monster like the Foreign Contaminants, and it was likely that he had finally joined forces with them. When pressed about the laws in protection of the Shadows, he had simply replied that those laws should've been ripped to shreds if they wanted to please the spirits of the Heroes and get rid of the fog.

-What is going on? Who is this man? - Lu said, throwing the newspaper back on the floor. Take a deep breath idiot, Scarlett would say. Count to ten, David would say. He was not allowed to get angry, bad things happened when his anger was let out of control. Very bad things. But how could someone that didn't even know him start talking rubbish like that? How could he say that Lu was a traitor when he was the victim in all of this?

-He is John Luce, the head of the local church. Don't worry about that one, everybody knows that he is an idiot- Danni intervened, crossed legged on the sofa. He was looking at Lu straight in the eyes and, for once, he was not betraying any emotion. Had they swapped places without Lu being informed?

-You should though- Humpty Dumpty replied, letting himself sit on the carpeted floor.

-So, spill the beans, what is going on in this place? - Meg said, bending forward from her position on the sofa. She seemed ready for action.

-Kohan has been abandoned to itself after the fog appeared. And lots of Foreign Contaminants that had not had enough time to get on the last ferry home- he said, looking inventively at Danni.

-In secret, most of the citizens of the town agreed to host them, hoping that the fog would disappear soon. But it didn't, and instead the special cleansing rules started-

Was that why Danni knew this man?

-But we didn't let our friends go-

In pure Kohan spirit. Lu always thought it was a stereotype, but it seemed to be true. Kohan was a resistance place, a place where the government couldn't run whatever they wanted but the citizens were managing themselves. For the first time since they entered that little room, Lu felt something resembling respect for that strange little man. And the anger, for the time being, bubbled away.

-But of late, some people disappeared- Humpty Dumpty said, hunching his back a little, protecting himself from invisible monsters.

-What do you mean? - Danni said, clenching his teeth.

-Take my neighbour. I haven't seen her in a couple of weeks. And the vampire that used to live with her seems to have disappeared too. On the other side of town, an entire family has gone. I don't know if they were hosting anybody. And there have been quite a few more cases. The rumours are that John Luce has been kidnapping all the people he thinks are related to the Foreign Contaminants, killing the monsters and doing god only knows what to the citizens- Humpty Dumpty shivered under the weight of his own words.

-We need to go and investigate- Lu said, before anyone else could chip in. He needed to do something. It was stated by the law of the land that the brothers and sisters of the church couldn't get involved in policing the street. It was their job, Lu's and his team members and the other Special Forces.

-No, we don't. We need to focus on our mission, not on some local miscreant causing trouble- Meg replied, crossing and re-crossing her legs, still a confident smile on her face.

-This could give us some clues about the mission too- Lu replied.

She didn't reply. Lu turned to look at Danni. His face was dark, his forehead corrugated in a million wrinkles. When he finally moved his eyes to meet Lu's, Lu saw his same determination reflected in the young man's gaze.

-We go and find out- Danni said, saying each word nice and clearly.

-Is this a revenge for the earlier vote? - Meg said, shaking her head, but a little smile appeared on her face.

-Maybe, but the people of this town helped and continue to help people like us, we can't let them get hurt on our account- he said, standing up.

This time, Danni stretch his hand out. And Lu stretched his own out too.

First step towards releasing Mary Sol: check.

They didn't have a plan per se, just a quick walk around the Church and possibly inside the church. Once they had enough details to come up with a strategy, they were going to attack.

-It's not necessary for both of you to come- Lu said. The building wasn't nearly as imposing as the Sanctuary. It was a low building made of steel and glass, with a few painted windows here and there. One of them was stitched up with some ancient looking wooden planks. Around the church there was nobody around.

-Well, last time you went in a building by yourself you fell in a very avoidable trap- Danni said. It was meant to be some kind of joke, but it didn't sound funny. Danni was all tense, the muscles in his jaw were going to explode soon if he didn't relax a little.

-That was a one-time thing- Lu replied, glaring at him.

-You stay here, I am going in and look, I won't be engaging with anybody- he said, before taking a deep breath. He had liquefied in front of strangers so many times since he joined the army. He had even done it a couple of times in front of Isamund, who had only encouraged him. But right there, in that shanty neighbourhood in an almost abandoned Kohan, he felt a little self-conscious.

-Come on, I really want to see it- Meg said, excited. He wanted to say that he was not a freak show. He was the promise of freedom for the town. He was going to restore the country's harmony.

-Give the man a bit of space- Danni hissed at her, keeping his eyes glued to Lu. For as much as he was telling Meg off, he looked excited himself.

Stop looking at me. Stop looking at me. Stop looking at me.

But he had a mission to accomplish. Lu took another deep breath and, concentrating, he started to let himself liquefy.

Oh Gods, that felt so good.

-Oh wow- he heard Meg but didn't have time for them anymore. He needed to go. Quickly he shuffled away, passing under the main wooden door of the church. He found himself in a wide room decorated just as he expected: benches on either side of a central aisle, some of them with red cushions to help the faithful with damaged bottoms. The walls were covered by the usual tributes of old and new flags from honoured troops there and by piles over piles of little candles left by the faithful.

Nobody there. No noise. Lu made his way forward in the dark. It was so much easier to do these things in places like that, the near total darkness, less chances of being spotted.

-Help me-

A woman's voice thundered in his head, drawing him to a halt. But, in the shadows of the dark church, he couldn't see anybody. He couldn't feel anybody. Was his mind playing him tricks?

-Where are you? Who are you? - he thought, hoping the communication went two ways.

-Help me please. His room- and the voice went silent. And not, that didn't feel good.

His room. John Luce's room, right? Had he turned his own room in the scene of hell? Lu rushed forward towards the altar at the other side of the room. On the right there was a door, but it couldn't be that easy, right? Lu let himself slipped under the door. Or at least he tried. He hit an invisible barrier, something that felt like impenetrable ice. Right, that would have been too easy, and John Luce knew that and had placed some sort of force field on it. Lu retreated.

-Help- the voice came back.

-You are not helping. Stop shouting- he said back. Not to be rude of course, but that constant "help me" thing was only making him more and more panicky.

He retreated to start examining the wall running along the room. It was an old enough building, surely there were going to be ways in, somehow.

Ah, a crack in the wall. He took a deep breath once again. He had never slipped through such a small place, it was a little more than a hair line crack. But someone was waiting for him. He climbed up the wall to the crack and started to slip through. He felt his body stretch. It hurt but he was in.

John Luce, you should have thought about your protections better!

But his thoughts were soon taken by what was in front of him. On the right side of the room, near an imposing fireplace, there was man, his back towards Lu. He was kneeling in front of something that had taken his breath away: it was a Shadow. Another sentient Shadow! Lu's heart started to run in his chest. He had never seen another before! It looked like his own shadow the moment it took a life of its own, but this one was just floating. Why was it...ah right, there was a circle of black salt on the floor, making it impossible for it to disappear. John Luce had captured a Shadow! Lu took a deep breath and focused on examining the rest of the room. Frank had talked about people disappearing. Where were....

There they were. There was a pile of bodies in the corner. That was where the smell was coming from. One of the bodies was lied down near the Shadow. There was a deep gash on the corpse, right at the level of the heart.

-What is going on? - he thought, hoping that the voice would reply, but nothing came from the female voice.

-Umbra corpore iungi, umbra corpore iungi- the priest started to chant in a monotone, deep voice. He didn't seem to want to stop, he was keeping on chanting as the Shadow in front of him started to tremble more and more. As if dragged by a force stronger than ever, the Shadow then moved towards the body, hovering over it.

-Umbra corpore iungi, umbra corpore iungi- John Luce's voice started growing stronger and stronger. Was this a voice spell? Usually the priests of the Church of the Heroes were not wizards or witches, but sometimes they made exception if they were able to show particularly strong devotion. Stupid Frank should have told him about that.

The Shadow started to get lower on the body.

-Help me- the voice finally came back, shouting out all her pain. A pain that ripped through Lu's entire body, as the ripples of power and magic started appearing in his vision.

But, as the legs of the Shadow started to touch the gash on the corpse, an actual explosion happened, sending parts of the corpse flying around the room and knocking John Luce to the floor.

For a moment nothing moved. For a moment, there was complete silence.

And then the voice of the Shadow thundered again in Lu's mind.

-He is trying to put me back in a body so that he can force me to perform the Last Resort again- she said, quickly, dropping half of the syllables, making it extra hard to understand what she was saying.

-Why is he doing this? Who are you? - Lu asked, trying to cram everything he could, as quickly as he could.

-Pandora of Middle Hill- she had time to say, before she shouted in pain again and, in front of Lu's disbelieving eyes, she was forced to go back to her position in the middle of the salt circle.

-Did you enjoy the show? - John Luce said.

Lu had been so focused on talking to the Shadow and understanding what was going on that he had completely lost track of his enemy.

He didn't move. He didn't say a word. He still had the hiding in the shadows factor. John Luce might have known he was there, but he couldn't be...

-I would like to see you- he said.

Lu didn't have the time to think "what the..." that he felt himself being pulled out of the ground. It normally hurt to re-crystallise but being forced to do so, feeling his body reacting to someone else's mind and will, made everything hurt double. The air in his lungs was squeezed out of him for a moment.

And there he was, standing up right as a human again. Face to face with John Luce.

-I didn't think you would actually come to me- he said, with a gleam of a smile on his nice, face. He was in his forties and he probably was regarded as a handsome man, with regular features, strong cheekbones and nice, intelligent eyes. And yet all Lu could see was the pile of bodies rotting away. How many times had he tried to push that poor Shadow into a body that wasn't her own?

-I am here to punish you. What you are doing here is against the law- Lu said. Now it made sense, the man in front of him wanted to attract him there because he was a full Shadow, one that could still perform the "Last Resort" without all this waste of corpses and lives. But what was his real goal?

-I admire your courage. It is not going to help you much- he said again smiling.

Out of the shadows on the floor, the same, identical claws Lu had used to kill the terrorists outside the Sanctuary came out of the darkness and got hold of his four limbs and one closed around his throat, but without pressing on his windpipes. At least not yet.

-You Shadows are monsters, just like the rest of them- he said, pointing to the pile of bodies on the floor. It didn't matter to him that some of them were Foreign Contaminants and some were normal humans. They were all guilty in his eyes.

-And if you can't be cast aside, you can at least be used for your powers-

-Why do you want the power of the Last Resort? -

-To get rid of the fog. I want to go back to the way things were- he said, looking at Lu frowning menacingly.

-Isn't the fog what you people wanted for a long time? The moral justification to kill all the things destroying the harmony of our country? - he insisted, trying to keep him occupied as he prepared his reaction.

-Not if our own families are behind the curtain- he growled before taking a gun out of his robes and shot straight at Lu.

Out of nowhere, Danni appeared right in front of him, taking the bullet for Lu before shooting John Luce back hitting him in the leg and making him stumble forward. The enemy managed another hit, but it got deflected by the shield of shadows Lu made appear when the claws released the grip, they had on him.

-We need to get out of here- Danni said, as Lu knelt next to him, the shield still protecting him from the bullets ricocheting around them.

-Not without the other Shadow- Lu replied, before taking Danni's gun and shooting at their enemy, who deflected their attacks.

But John Luce had a point in his favour: magic.

Suddenly, the pile of bodies started to move. And not, it wasn't a rat feasting on the flesh. Lu knew that spell, he had seen it before: wizard and witches could use a spell to give unmoving things a resemblance of life for a little while.

And they only had one gun with limited bullets.

-You take them, I will...-

Lu couldn't finish the sentence as a pained scream from the priest got his attention: Meg had appeared out of the blue and had shot him again, in the other leg.

-This is what you get for the creatures you killed-.

Then she shot him again in the arm.

-This is what you get for having killed lots of humans-.

Then shot him right in the head.

-And that's what you get for being an ass-.

His body went limp on the floor, as so did all the other corpses, with lots of macabre "thumps, thumps". Lu would have liked for it not to end like that. He would have preferred to capture and interrogate him. Too late now. But he was glad to see Meg.

-I thought I said to stay out of this- Lu said, with a sarcastic smile on his face.

-A simple thank you would do love- Meg replied, crossing her arms, studying him with an arched eyebrow.

-Could we wrap it up? I have a situation here- Danni's broken voice took them by surprise. He was still on the floor, panting and bleeding.

-Sorry- Meg replied, moving forward to go and help him out.

-Wait, the Shadow...- Lu said, but she was gone. The pang of disappointment tugged at his heart. For the first time he had met someone like him, and he let the chance of asking all the questions he always wanted to ask slip through his fingers. Who did she say she was? Pandora something or other.

-I would appreciate it if we could stop brooding and get moving- Danni hissed between his teeth.

-Come on Shadowman- Meg said, before stretching her hand to him. He took it and, right in that moment, everything went completely white.

He stumbled on his own feet as they reappeared in Frank's house. Danni had lost consciousness and flopped on the floor.

-Do you have any first aid stuff? - Meg barked at the poor man whose face looked so blank as if he had seen a ghost. He only nodded.

-Go and get it, and you wait in the kitchen- she said, pointing her finger to Lu.

-I can help- he said. It was neither the first not the last time he would have to cope with an injured comrade.

-I can do it better on my own- she replied, before pushing him away.

Lu and Frank ended up sitting at the kitchen table. In silence. Oh, it was awkward. Lu started looking around, taking in the sight of such a splendidly clean kitchen. All the utensils in their place, not a dirty plate in the sink or a drying cup on the rack. It was small, just a little more than a small corridor, but Frank had managed to find a table small enough to fit in that space and put a nice bouquet of red and yellow flowers on it.

-He used to sit there all the time- he finally said.

-Who? -

-Danni, when he started living with me. After the ferry he was meant to take was, you know...there was so much chaos I couldn't abandoned him like that. Not when they started to come looking for them- Frank said, lowering his gaze to his empty hands resting on his legs. Right when the containment Forces had come for the Foreign Contaminants, Isamund had come for him. Such different outcome. All connected to the damn fog. A strange thought passed through Lu's mind: was John Luce right? Was he really no different from the Foreign Contaminants? A sudden chill went down his spine.

-Please don't judge me- Frank said, with his gaze still lowered down.

-I never had any children. He was...-

-I won't ever judge you- Lu said, with as much certainty as he could convey with his voice.

-He seems always angry but underneath all that rage there is a good heart. I don't believe that all the problems of this place are due to his people-.

This time he did look right into Lu's eyes. Lu opened his mouth to replicate something, anything, but no sound came out. He was saved by the bell: Meg came rushing in the room.

-He will live, but we need to go. You know as well as I do that, they will be picking up the spike in energy soon- she said, crossing her arms to her chest and looking at him frowning. The scales on her arms were visible again now and there was a wild look in her eyes, with the dilated pupils and the canines showing. But she sounded perfectly sound of mind. And right.

-Do you have somewhere else to stay? - he asked Frank.

-I will stay here. This is my house. It is not much, but I will fight for it if I need to- he replied, steadying himself on the shaky legs.

Lu hoped with all his heart that he was going to be fine.

Once Meg retrieved the car, they pushed Danni on the back seat and Lu sat next to him. The car shot away, giving him one last glimpse of the brave Humpty Dumpty man.

As they drove away, the first rays of dawn started to appear on the horizon. Danni was sleeping softly. Whatever Meg had done had worked very well. His features looked so relaxed. Lu stretched his hand and took Danni's in his.

Isamund had been waiting the whole day for the night to arrive. The dream connection had worked before, it was going to work again, right?

-You might need to give up for tonight. He might not be asleep- her father's voice. Her dead father's voice. When he had finally died, she had been so happy. Finally, she was going to be free to be herself. Free to use her powers the way she always wanted to use them. She was going to be the best thing that had ever happened to their country.

But he had not left her. His ghost had decided to stay as his work was not done, he had said. Their country was still under threat, and they, Isamund and himself, had the moral responsibility to do something about it.

Or, maybe, it was because he wanted to continue to torture her.

-You should stop obsessing about what happens to him- he said, looking at her. Always looking at her.

-You know as much as I do that he could be dangerous. That is why I brought him into the army- she replied, looking straight into his eyes, knowing full well that, for as much as he always said that he knew her daughter inside out, he couldn't tell what was really going on inside of her.

That was a reason that she was going to confess to Lu and Lu alone, if it could ever get to that point.

-There are ways and means to stop him if that would prove to be necessary- he said, dangling menacingly right in front of her face.

-What happens if he figures out how to stop us? - she said as a shiver went down her spine. With a bit of luck, Lu would be spared that. With a bit of luck, the Foreign Contaminants would find a way to kill him before it ever got to that point.

-Then he will regret the moment he was born-.


	7. Up in the mountains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the fight with John Luce, Lu and Danni have a conversation and revisit painful memories. 
> 
> Lu has a choice to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note English is not my first language and this work in unbetaed.

Lu woke up when the car suddenly stop. His head felt dizzy and his arm hurt with extreme pins and needles. Yep, he had fallen asleep, with Danny leaning into him, still fast asleep. It took him a moment but then all the memories came flooding back. John Luce torturing the Shadow, the pile of bodies, the smell of blood and rotten meat, and Meg saving them at the last minute. Speaking of Meg, where was she?

-Morning sleeping beauty- she said, opening the front door of the car all of a sudden.

-Where are we? - he said with a sleepy voice.

Somehow, she had stopped the car in a clearing, just outside forest area. The deep blue sky of the late morning and the chirping birds were an unmistakable sign of the time of day. He also noticed the rocky outcrop covered in moss and lichens hiding a cave.

-It's the safest place I know, hopefully it will take them a long time to find us up here- she said. She was being deliberately evasive, but he didn't mind too much at that point. The smell of coffee and croissants was intoxicating. He was going to ask her complicated questions later.

-Where did you get breakfast?- he said, as she dropped a heavy white, sticky bag on his lap.

-I am a miracle worker am I not? Anyway- she said, letting herself fall on the front passenger seat and relax for a moment. There was a clear change in her expression, with the cheeky smile replaced by a long face. She had dark bags under her eyes, tired after driving the whole night. But he knew that there was more.

-I need to go to some places. You stay here and look after him. If I am not back before tomorrow morning, please come and rescue me- Well, that sounded ominous.

-No, wait, where are you going? Why are you doing this? We are meant to be a team and go searching for the source- he said, panicking. Nope, he really didn't want to be left in a place he didn't know, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, with an injured soldier. It sounded like a recipe for disaster. The army was sure to be not far away from them.

-Oh gosh, no need to sound so hysterical- she said, amused.

-I am looking for the source. Just not where the Captain said and not in a place where I can easily bring creatures like you-

-How will I be able to find you if I don't know where you are going?- he said. They were wasting time and he was no closer to find how to get to Mary Sol or to the bloody source of the fog.

-I don't know, don't you have some sort of shadow tricks of something?- she said, giving him a pat on the knee. He stared at her, automatically giving her his angry eyes.

-Oh dear, you do take everything seriously don't you? - she said, laughing in his face.

-Use this phone to track mine down, it's already all set up for you- she said, handing in an old Samsung that Lu wasn't sure still work, let alone use GPS.

-Now I really need to go- then, giving a side glance to where Danni was still asleep, she added with a stern voice, moving her chin to point at Danni:

-Look after him-

-Going soft, demon?- he said, trying to be as patronising as she had been.

-Always better than hysterical, Shadowman- she replied before standing up and adding:

-Maybe it's true that Demons and Shadows are not that different after all. Toodles- and with that she started running. In a matter of seconds she was gone.

-She is probably going to speak with her gang of demons- Danni's voice almost made him jump.

-How long have you been awake for?- Lu said, shaking his head. He should have known.

-Enough- Danni replied and, after stretching for a second, he got out of the car. The wound was probably still painful. What sort of technique had Meg used on it to make it stop bleeding?

-What demons?- the more time he was spending with those two, the more questions seemed to crop up in his mind instead of answers. Was there more than one armed Foreign Contaminants' gang? Or was the whole resistance gathered in that strange underground base?

-I don't know for sure, she never says much about them. But I think it's her original covenant- he replied, as Lu got out of the car and reached him, both of them now sitting with their bums on the car.

-She will be back soon hopefully. And these are mine- he said, grabbing the white bag still in Lu's hands.

-You wish, one is mine- he replied, trying to grab the bag back. He was hungry too, so hungry after all that had happened.

-With all the blood I lost, I think I deserve two- Danni replied.

To that, Lu didn't know what to reply and handed the bag over.

-So it is true that you are a softy after all- Danni laughed, quickly getting the croissant out. It turned out that they were two ham and cheese ones and they smelled gorgeous. Lu could feel his stomach rumbling.

-But I am having the coffee- Lu said, following Danni who was making his way to the cave, letting himself fall down, slowly, against the wall. It wasn't that different a location from the car seat, but maybe he was enjoying the fresh air.

-Where are we anyway? - Lu asked. That place felt strange, there was some strange surreal quietness, and he didn't like it one bit. It's right when you feel most secure that the situation crumbles under your feet.

-Somewhere not too far from Orte I think. It was here that I found her wounded and brought her to the base- he said, finishing the last bite of croissant.

-It seems that you all have rather sad stories- Lu replied, crossing his arms to his chest.

-Says the one abandoned by his parents- Danni answered, throwing the paper bag at Lu.

-Touche'- Lu replied, letting himself sit down on the humid cave floor right in front of Danni.

An embarrassing silence fell on both of them. There was nothing to do. They were stuck there, away from everyone and everywhere. And Lu knew himself. It was not going to take long before he would start to feel restless.

-What do you want to do till she is back?-Lu said, after taking two long sips of his coffee. The caffeine was not going to help, but it tasted so good.

-I don't know about you, but I have some old games on my phone, and I going to play them - Danni replied, not lifting his eyes from the lighted phone screen.

Ah well, thanks. The phone Meg gave him was barely alive and he needed to keep the battery going.

He saw the side glance that Danni gave him. Ahah! You are feeling bad for ignoring me, aren't you?

-Why don't you show me some shadow tricks? - Danni said then, avoiding Lu's eyes but there didn't seem to be malice in his eyes as he put the phone away.

-You are kidding right? - yet he could not believe him. Nobody was ever really interested in his tricks, not for the sake of his tricks anyway, only if they could be used as a weapon. And he was so tired of being a weapon.

-I thought you command the shadows, so come on, show me something- Danni replied, smiling, his whole body slumping a little. Relaxed.

Lu couldn't decide if he felt more self-conscious or happy to oblige. When was the last time someone had been actually interested in his powers? He gently stroke the darkness in the cave and, right in the middle, a stem stood up from the nothingness, opening up in a flower in nice wide petals.

-Impressive, really- Danni said, corrugating his forehead and crossing his arms.

-But I have seen you doing better- he was probably referring to the stunt he pulled during the attack. The military thing again. Lu tightened his fists. The anger was raising. He needed to fight it.

He was no a weapon.

And then, with a moment of lucidity, Lu had an idea that could speed up his way out immensely.

He moved his own shadow close to Danni. Damn, as he was sitting so close to the entrance of the cave, he had only a tiny shadow, right under his legs.

-What are you doing? - Danni replied, jerking away from Lu's shadow, eyes wide open in fear.

-I am not going to kill you, I am just going to have a look in your head- Lu laughed.

He had had enough of playing around. It wasn't enough for Danni to stand up, Lu's shadow was immediately on his, connecting their minds.

The usual rash of memories. Colours everywhere, flattering around his mind. He felt light, as if he was floating. And then, suddenly, some shapes appeared: he was in what looked like a bakery, a nice little place with loads of pastries on show behind a glass, a few little tables and a few guests chatting merrily about their days, creating a pleasant background noise to the quiet classical music playing from a radio on the top shelf. But Lu's eyes were all focus on one thing: there was Danni, standing near a metallic grey fridge together with a young girl with pig tails and a cute red dress. She was giggling away, so excited.

-Are you ready for your surprise? - Danni asked, with a big smile on his face.

The little girl clapped her hands when Danni opened the fridge and one of the shelves came out. There was a five layered cake on it, some sort of miracle of baking. Each layer was telling the story of little red riding hood: the bottom layer looked like a series of cute little houses, full of little people, some at their windows, some at the door sweeping the pavement, there were a few cats and dogs here and there, and then the little girl with her red coat. Under Lu's disbelieving eyes, the little girl moved, almost running away from her mother and up the little set of stairs leading her to the next two layers, where the green of the woods looked so deep that the trees seemed to be alive, almost moving in the wind. In her little run, the girl rushed last the wolf, quickly into the grandma 's sweet little house, to finally arrive to the second to last layer, decorated in a completely different way: it looked like the sea side, where little red riding hood stopped till a little mermaid came out, stretching her hand to her friend. At that point, the mermaid tail at the top of the cake started to move forward and backwards.

-It's just like I wanted it! Thank you so much!- she squeaked before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Very, very sweet and nice, but that really wasn't the point. There had to be something about Mary Sol somewhere. Danni seemed to be quite in confidence with Captain Mallory, surely, he was at least briefed about the whereabouts of Mary Sol. It was usually easier to find what he wanted in people's mind, it almost jumped out at Lu's face, but here, in Danni's mind, fragments were dancing away, luring him here and there. Was the mind of a shapeshifter as unstable as his body?

A sudden noise, like the heavy metallic door of a shop being pulled down for the night, made him jump. A dark wall had appeared on his right side. He had never seen something like this before, but he had read that some people have particular strengths when it come to their minds. Could it be that Danni knew ways to block him?

He shuffled to the left and, quickly, the cafÃ¨ evaporated in a greyish cloud, leaving space for something new. A new memory appeared: they were in a dimly lit kitchen, with a bare light bulb dangling from the ceiling that was flickering a little. There was not much else, a fridge with two sad magnets and an empty table. A younger version of Danni was plastered against the wall with an older man towering over him, with the top of a broken bottle in his hand and the sharp edges of the glass pointed towards Danni's belly.

-Dad?- Lu heard him saying before a black wall fell right in front of him, covering the scene in front. And another fell right to his left. There was no way out.

He turned around and there was Danni.

-How dare you?- he hissed, before rushing forward, pushing Lu down with both his hands on his shoulders.

Lu fell backwards, back in his own mind and memories.

He was a little kid again. Five years old. A little kid with strange black drops falling from his right hand on a lazy Tuesday afternoon in the hottest summer he could remember. His body was shaking. Everything around looked so much taller and scarier than him.

-Mum- he screamed, as more and more drops were falling down. He could simply look at it, he couldn't stop it. He stopped breathing when his whole hand had turned into a puddle on the floor. Panic kicked in as the rest of his body started to disappear.

By the time his mother had arrived, his body had all gone. But he was still alive, still there. He could think, and it felt strangely pleasant. His body was expanding and contracting on the floor. The usual tightening in his chest was gone. He felt himself vibrating, it felt exciting in a way. He wanted to tell his mum, but, as she finally spotted him on the floor, he saw her face fall. Her eyes became so unnaturally wide before she screamed, howling between the tears as she ran away from him. He tried to move forward, wanted to reach her, but he couldn't.

Don't cry mum, please stop crying.

With the panic rising again, looking around himself not sure what to do, Lu finally noticed Danni, standing at the door.

And Lu, seeing him there, almost sniggering at the whole situation, felt the anger. The proper anger. And this time he was not going to let it go.

Oh no.

Suddenly they were back in the cave, panting.

But Lu reacted fast and jumped right at Danni, pushing him to the floor of the cave. Danni flinched for the pain, but did not move, just growled in return.

-Don't ever do that again- Lu growled, his voice deep, forcing Danni's shoulders down with all his strength, not caring for the other's pained sounds.

Nobody was meant to know the moment that damned his whole life.

And definitely nobody was meant to laugh at it.

-You shouldn't have gone looking in my mind in the first place- Danni replied, finally pushing him away. As the pain of the fall flashed in his mind, Lu, finally, lost it.

As they both stood up, one in front of the other, the anger took over. Drops of shadows started to drip from his hands and with one, simple and fluid movement of his hands, they scattered all around.

The moment they touched the ground, they exploded, one by one, making the walls of the cave crumble down. Danni shoot out of the cave as fast as he could, even with a shadow droplet exploding close to his legs. Lu didn't worry about the debris falling on his head, shadows immediately protecting him from danger. Lu's vision was locked on his target with his mind shouting "destroy". As they were now out in the open, the shadows of the trees and of the car itself took a life of their own and rushed forward and, as Danni was about to take off with his arms turned into wings, they caught him, dragging him down on the floor.

-Come and fight me like a man- Danni shouted then, piercing through the dark cloud that had descend on Lu's mind.

The shadows released their grip on Danni and, pouncing forward, Lu went for the kill with the knife he had put in his uniform before going to face John Luce. Danni dodged and dodged, taking Lu by surprise when, as fast as lightning, he took a branch from the ground and hit Lu with such strength that made him fall on his knee. Lu quickly dodged a kick from his enemy, standing up again.

And again, Danni turned his arms into wings, lifted himself up and gave Lu a kick with his good leg right in the chest.

-How is that fighting like a man? -Lu shouted now, recalling the shadows en mass and once again stopping Danni before he could rush too far up.

And Danni was pinned down on the floor again.

And he laughed again. Why was he always laughing?

Knife in hand, Lu jumped on him, ready to get rid of him. Once and for all. The power of life and death in his hands made the adrenaline rush fast around his body. Screw his chance of redemption. Screw Mary Sol. They all needed to leave him alone.

-Don't you see that we are both in prison? - Danni said, looking straight at him.

Danni voice reached to him again. Lu stopped, right there and then, pointing the knife at his enemy's jugular but not moving any further than that.

-My father's violence, your mother abandoning you, my fighting to survive and you fighting someone else's war, how is it any different? -

Lu moved, getting the knife so close to Danni's neck that he drew blood. But, somehow, Danni still didn't look scared.

-It's my duty. I am fighting for my country- he growled again, every muscle in his body impossible tense.

-And yet you save me. Why did you save me? And why aren't you killing me now? -Danni growled, taking Lu's moment of hesitation to knee him in the stomach, finally getting to change their position around so that Lu was now pinned on the ground. But not for long. The shadows were right on him, dragging Danni down again.

But that was Lu's mistake. Right when the shadows touched Danni again, the connection to Lu's mind reopened.

He was in his combat gear, taking a green door down, followed by the three other soldiers as he stepped into an empty house. Too empty. He still remembered the musty smell inside so much that he could feel it up his nose. Lu started to explore the place with his gun raised up. The door opened on a wide entrance hall that might have been used as a living room too, but there was no furniture, nothing that could give them any clues about who lived there. Moving as silently as the wooden slabs of the floor allowed him to do, he activated the Power Cradle, a little device, not bigger than an ashtray but similar to a UFO in shape. He placed it on the floor, letting it do its job: it had a special kind of motor, a magical device of some kind that absorbed the monsters' powers, making them easier to catch. They were under strict orders not to pick up the device after use, but to keep it there, someone was going to pick it up for them.

-No one here- Dave's voice came through the radio.

But they knew there was someone, Lu himself had provided the Intel, after hearing of that location by possessing the shadow of another prisoner as they interrogated him.

-You stay here, I am going to check downstairs- he replied.

The stairs going to the basement creaked even louder than the floor upstairs. The wood seemed to be ready to crack any minute

And there, right at the bottom of the stairs, four of them came down on him, three men and a woman. They fought as hard as they could, but with Lu's team members reaching him after hearing the screams from the basement, they did not stand a chance.

As his team members took them away, one by one, Lu felt something. A chilling sensation at the back of his neck. Someone was watching him.

-You go ahead, I will be right back- he said, waving away his colleagues' concerns for his health after having been punched more than enough for one day.

Where was it? Lu wished the Foreign Contaminant would do something, anything to trigger his senses and help him find it.

But it turned out that it wasn't necessary. He found him pretty easily: a boy, no more than fourteen, with the clipped ears of a demon barely concealed by the longish hair. He was trying to make himself as small as possible, with his scrawny legs close to his chest.

Lu stretched his hand out, smiling. And the boy did the only natural, consequential thing: he jumped at Lu, biting him on that same palm he had stretched out as an offering. It hurt like hell, those pointy canines getting through his skin and drawing blood, most likely causing an infection with his demon blood and whatever spores they carried with it. The boy was brave, he fought with all his might, but for Lu it was easy, so, so easy. As his shadows caught the boy and dragged him back up towards the exit, Lu glanced side way to Danni, who, invisible to anybody else, was watching the scene. His face was almost green in the dim light of that basement.

And the worst was yet to come.

The scene changed. They were in the Sanctuary of Light, all in their most magnificent uniforms, the ones that make them all sweat and that are often too tight to move properly. But that was probably the point. The atmosphere was heavy with incense, Lu couldn't breathe. The church was so huge and imposing, it made you feel so small and insignificant. There were so many flags everywhere. When the Head of the Order appeared, a tall man with dark hair, bone lined glasses and hunched shoulders, the organ music started to play so loudly that Lu could almost hear his brain shaking. The little procession of men in beautiful red gowns arrived to the altar and the music suddenly stopped.

-Brethren, we are gathered here today to celebrate the anniversary of the sign sent to us by our Ancestors, the Heroes that shaped this country. Their noble spirits always watch over us, protect us from evil. Don't let us go astray from the harmony they created with their sacrifices-

A rhetorical pause.

-But we did go astray. We lost ourselves, allowing factors of chaos to enter in our land and destroy the harmony-.

Lu tried not to listen. He tried not to look at the scar he still had from the boy's teeth. He concentrated on Isamund, sitting on an elegant, wodden chair, the first to the right of the altar. She looked so splendid in her bright white gown, her blonde hair cascading down on her naked shoulders. She had felt it somehow, because she had turned to him, smiling.

Danni was standing right next to her. He wasn't looking at Lu though, no, his eyes were right on the altar. Right on the naked marble. He knew what was going to happen next. He had surely seen it, or heard about it. Lu tried to stand up to go to him because, for as much as he had turned out to be a pain in his neck, he didn't need to see what was about to happen.

-The Heroes gave us a sign, the Fog. And, to placate their spirits and give them thanks, we shall offer them a sign of our penitence-.

The organ music started again. And two men in a black gown, one of the holding a golden staff, lead forward a young man. The same one that gave Lu the scar. The boy was shaking again. Of all the prisoners they could have used for some stupid hocus pocus, they had to choose him. Someone that young. Someone with eyes so big that could not hide away the terrifying fear that was taking hold of his heart.

The boy screamed as the guards forced him up the altar. His body writhed, trying to escape, but, in the Sanctuary, no kind of magic could take place. No kind of tricks of the mind. They kept him still, as the Head brought up the ceremonial knife with its golden handle and slammed it right in the boy's chest.

Lu felt like vomiting.

They were back in that unknown forest. Both of them panting. Lu turned his face enough to look at Danni, lying down on the ground, catching his breath. His eyes were wide open though, roaming around. And Lu would have given anything to know what he was thinking about.

-I saved you to have a chance at saving myself- Lu said, almost in a whisper, unable to stop himself.

And then he ran. He liquefied as quickly as he had ever done in his whole life and ran, jumping from one shadow to the other, wishing the night would arrive as soon as possible.

-Come back- he heard Danni scream.

-Come back you idiot- another scream.

Lu stopped in his tracks, but didn't crystallise or come back. He simple stayed put, finding in the shadow of a big oak tree. As reason was starting to creep back into his mind, he realised that Danni could still get in touch with the Captain and get Mary Sol killed. Lu felt frozen in place, not sure what to do.

-I know you can hear me, so I am just saying it anyway- Danni started to say, before taking a deep breath and saying:

-You don't owe anything to your country. You don't need to prove your worth to your lady boss or your mum. You only need to prove your worth to yourself. I understand how you feel, I struggle for so long thinking that my father's behaviour was my fault. Thinking that I should have stayed and helped. But I didn't owe him anything. And-

His words got cut off by the sounds of gun shots.

Six soldiers emerged from the forest, guns in hand, surrounding Danni. And David, Lu's big Dave, lead the team, shooting the first bullet in Danni's leg as the shapeshifter was trying to fly away, causing ripples in Lu's vision, but he needed to disregard the pain and focus. He could go home. He only needed to crystallise again. Danni wouldn't have the time to contact Thomas Mallory now and, with his team back, Lu could try again to coax the information out of him. By the time Meg would figure out that something was wrong, Mary Sol might have been already free and everything was going to be back to normal.

But Lu couldn't move. His heart was beating so fast. He knew how to take back his human form, and yet he was trembling in the shadow. He was the five-year-old kid once again, with the ugly face of the world screaming back at him.

-What are you going to do?- The voice of his own shadow rumbled in Lu's mind, taking him by surprise as it didn't take human form to contact him.

-I don't know- he replied, but time was running out. Danni was trying to fight for his life, he managed to land a blow at big Dave's face. And not once he screamed for Lu, revealing his presence.

-You do. You showed him something you have never shown anyone else- the Shadow said. Lu felt naked. The shadow was part of himself after all, it knew him better than anybody else. There was no hiding.

-That was you, not me- yes, surely his shadow had decided to reveal his dirty little secrets to the last person he should have wanted to reveal it too.

-Oh trust me, that was all on you- his shadow replied with mockery.

They finally subdued him, putting hand restrains on him as his bullet wound was bleeding again. Lu saw Danni gasp in pain, barely managing to keep up with his enemies. The ripples in his vision had now disappeared as the restraints could keep his power in check. He stumbled and they only forced him up again. They were not going to help him, they were not authorised to medicate Foreign Contaminants, only their own team mates. If the Foreign Contaminant was going to bleed out, so be it.

But Lu was not going to let them take away his chance of redemption.

He didn't need to touch the shadows. They moved by themselves, blocking his team mates before they could force Danni to move any further.

-Lu?- David howled, trying to search around them, trying to spot any anomalies in any of the shadows in the forest.

It turned out that John Luce was actually right: he was a traitor after all. He recrystalised, showing his face to the only man he had left conscious, on porpoise. Lu stepped forward, without saying a word.

-What did they do to you?- David said, eyes wide opened as he was forced to kneel on the grass. His mouth was keeping on opening and closing, but no sound came out. Lu looked at him with a frown. Not knowing himself what to say of the myriad of things he wanted to tell his friend. He just hoped that, one day, big Dave would understand his actions.

-Forgive me- he simply said, as he took Danni's arm and walked to the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you like, do leave comment with any feedback you might have!


	8. One step forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the clash with David, Lu and Danni share a moment of peace and tranquillity before heading to Meg's demonic covenant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be advised that there is a description of someone committing suicide in this chapter. It is not a main character, but I thought to warn you just in case.

They drove for what felt like forever. Lu wasn't saying a word, not even some insults, while Danni couldn't keep his mouth shut, complaining about the pain and why the hell was everybody always shooting him? It turned out that, even though the wound was bleeding profusely, the bullet had only grazed his leg, ending somewhere around the forest. They had wanted to scare him more than incapacitate him. He was trying his best to medicate it, but the road was far too bumpy to manage to make a decent job out of the dressing.

-Would you please suck it up and talk to me? - he asked, when he couldn't stand the silence anymore. If he had learnt one thing about that stupid man sitting behind the wheel was that he could be stubborn as hell. But he wanted to know that he was ok. That they were ok. The freaking military couldn't have picked a worst time to pull that stunt. How had they even tracked him down, anyway? Ah, right, the bloody half transformation he had pulled off when fighting Lu. Ok, so it was kind of like his fault too, right?

Lu finally stopped the car. He couldn't recognise the place, it looked like the outskirts of a tiny town. Danni saw what looked like an abandoned ruined. Judging from the big open spaces on the walls, maybe it had been a nice church back in its days. The walls were almost turning pink in the light of the sunset. Why was nobody looking after that building? Not that it really mattered. The only important thing for them in that very moment was that was nobody around. There was only the wind, blowing in the grass.

Lu turned the car off and, silently, joined Danni on the back seat. He swore to himself that it was going to be the last time he was going to seat in the back bleeding.

-Hey, what was that for? - he squeaked when Lu ripped the leg of his trousers. Great, he only had two pairs with him, and it was not looking good in terms of washing stuff anytime soon.

Still Lu didn't make a sound. His face didn't betray any emotions, besides the deep frown on his forehead. Lu brought a hand to his wound, while the other was giving orders to his shadow. Under Danni's mesmerized eyes, the shadow started to stitch his wound up.

It fucking hurt. Danni screamed as the pain maid his vision blacked out. He had to try to keep his breathing even. Did he feel for real that hand grasping his with strength? As he came back to his senses, he found Lu, looking directly at his face, examining him.

-I am ok- Danni heard himself saying. And he hated how weak that sounded. Lu was too close, keeping on examining him as if he didn't believe him. Danni could only look away, down towards the grubby floor of the car.

-You better be-.

Finally, Lu spoke to him. Danni took a deep breath.

-I am with you now. I am officially a traitor- Lu said, slowly, almost as if he didn't believe it himself, while he still looked right in Danni's eyes, making him feel unprotected. He wanted to tell him to stop looking at him, to stop making him feel things. His own breathing started to feel heated, and it was not a consequence of the strange shadowy stitches on his leg.

The young man sitting next to him had just save his life once again, going against all that he had stood for. All that he had believed so far. Danni didn't want to let him down. But how was he ever going to express the storm in his chest? He was not a fucking writer, he didn't have the words.

-Well, it's the two of us against the world then. We are better going to find this damn origin of the fog, am I right? - he then said, needing to break the tension. He felt Lu's gaze on him for one more second before he felt the car seat shifting and Lu re-positioned himself.

-I guess we really do- Lu replied, sighing.

Come on, come up with a funny joke or something, Danni kept on slapping his own mind internally.

-Don't feel so happy about it- he then said, mocking the other.

-I would prefer someone less reckless-

-And I would prefer someone less of a pain in the neck, but here we are- he replied, with a fake annoyance on his face. And there it was, a little smile on Lu's face.

-See what you are doing to me? I am becoming so polite that I can't even say ass anymore- Danni laughed out loud. When Lu didn't join him in the laugh but gave him a side look, Danni added:

-By the way, thank for the stitches. That was the best shadow trick I've seen so far- he said, hoping to cheer the other man further. God, he was going soft, wasn't he?

-No problem- Lu said, before adding all serious and gloomy:

-We need to find Meg now. We are further away than agreed-

-Don't worry, unless she is in big trouble, she will find her way to us- Danni replied, shaking his head. Meg always found a way, she was by far the most resourceful person he knew.

Lu simply nodded. An embarrassing silence fell on the two of them and no, the polar bears trick was not going to help.

-Is it true what you said in the forest? - Danni asked, surprising himself, but he needed to know the truth.

-What part? - Lu replied, looking everywhere but at Danni.

-That you saved me to save yourself- Danni replied, trying to repeat the same words Lu used.

Lu took a deep breath as he stared right in front of him.

-I believed in the cause. I really thought that I was helping. I thought that my actions were leading everybody to a better place. But then, when you start hearing the screams. When you start tearing families apart. When you see the heart of a boy being taken out of his open chest, you start to question yourself. When I saw you in the forest that night, I- his voice broke. Danni took a deep breath and did not move a muscle.

-I thought that if I could save one soul, maybe mine would not be given the most severe of punishments-

Danni didn't know what to say. He had no way to express how much he understood him. He had killed people. He had fought for his cause. Did it make it ok? One thing he knew though: you don't always need to use words. He stretched his arms and passed them around Lu, who stiffened at first, before finally letting it go.

They stayed like that for a long time, breathing deeply in and out.

-Well, what's your favourite book or movie? - Danni asked, with genuine interest, as he let Lu go. With all that had happened, they had skipped the part when they got to know each other and ended up straight to the "I will give my life for yours" part.

-The Lord of the Rings, without a doubt- Lu replied. Of all things, Danni didn't expect that and laughed.

-I didn't think you would be the kind to like fantasy stories. With all the magic already in your life-

-The Lord of the Rings is a history novel, just not about this world- Lu replied, suddenly serious. Great, all the effort that Danni had put into lightening up the mood had gone to pot.

-Escapism, I get it- Danni replied. Gods, he knew a thing or two about needing a way out.

-What's yours? - Lu replied, tilting his head enough to look at Danni sideways. Was it stupid to feel happy that Lu seemed interested in knowing about him too?

-The Great Gatsby...but I am not a quick reader, dyslexia and all. I love movies though...DC or Marvel?

Danni kept on discovering things about Lu that afternoon. He only got the chance to go to the cinema sporadically, but he loved the experience. The forgetting for a good two to three hours who and where he was.

-I used to go with Dave, the man you saw earlier. He always used to get two hot dogs and a big ball of popcorns. Never understood how he didn't end up becoming round- Lu giggled at his own stupid joke, more out of tension than anything else. He looked more relaxed, his shoulders finally slumping a little.

Danni went silent at hearing that confession. He hadn't thought of that possibility. For him all those soldiers were all the same, they all looked the part of the toy soldiers in their stupid uniform. But Lu had been one of them only a little while ago, when he took him away from it, from his friends. Fuck his life. He was only doing his duty. Oh God, now he was starting to talk like him.

-And you chose me over him - Danni whispered, unable to move in that tiny car that seem to get smaller and smaller. Of course, he had someone waiting for him. Even in the midst of all the agitation and the tension of the fight, Danni had noticed the reaction of the big man when Lu appeared. His eyes had gone so wide when Lu went away with him.

Stupid fucking war.

-I... - Lu clasped his hands on his knees, looking at his hands for a moment. Then he took a deep breath before saying:

-I would do it again- then, a little smile appeared on his lips and added:

-I feel free for the first time in forever-.

Oh, fuck it. Danni stopped caring about the consequences. He moved forward, bending to get closer to Lu's face, when the front door of the car opened wide and Meg jumped in like a fury.

-I hate you guys, you could have texted- she said, frowning, looking at them through the central mirror.

-Sorry, it was kind of a matter of urgency- Danni replied. He looked at Lu from the corner of his eye. Was he going to tell her everything? They should, right? And yet Danni really didn't want to say a word. Not about their fight.

-Yes, and a bunch of soldiers searching the woods. What the hell did you do to my cave? -

-Sorry, that was my fault- Lu admitted, looking at Danni as Meg started to drive away. He was still smiling at him.

-I should remember not to leave children unsupervised. Anyway, I have good news, the covenant wants to meet you- she said slamming the accelerator so much that Danni for a moment saw all his life speeding in front of him.

-Your covenant? The one you had never even told me anything about? - he asked, letting himself go against the seat when they finally reached a more decent speed.

-It took a lot of convincing, don't get me wrong. But at the mentioning of Shadowman here, they agreed to help us- she said, gesturing to Lu.

-Do they know anything about the source of the fog? - Lu asked, pragmatic, getting to the point.

-They want to discuss it with you, they didn't want to tell me any spoilers- she replied. Danni could see through the mirror of the car that she was frowning a little. But not showing her teeth. Ok, maybe she wasn't as pissed off as he feared.

It was dark by the time they got to the covenant. Nobody from the outside would have said that a bunch of demons were hiding in there. It was a big complex with three or four building, each of them 5 or six floors high. All Meg had to do was to swipe a badge with a magnetic stripe and the automatic gates silently opened for them. Lu was worried that someone was going to recognise the car, as he knew that Big Dave would have taken a mental note and remembered it correctly. He was spookily good with numbers. But, when Meg drove them to an underground tunnel, hiding the car away, Lu felt he really needed to worry about something else, specifically Demons. Presumably they were of the same specie as Meg. So, they could expect some fire balls, some mind reading predicting their movements when in battle, and an incredible agility. He could face two of them, but the mind reading, especially with a season practitioner, was going to be hard and painful. He looked at Danni. The idiot was going to rush into something stupid, he just knew it. Was there a way to leave him behind, for safety? Too late, they were already in the elevator, a shiny one with those mirrors that repeat your image thousands of times, when a voice said:

-Welcome back Meghan-. Lu was already tense. The strange sweetness in that voice didn't help.

-Nice to see you, Lana- Meg replied, rolling her eyes.

-Who are you talking to? - Danni said in a whisper. Lu was curious as well, as he couldn't see any sort of cameras. No loudspeakers. That place was starting to spook him.

-It's the spirit in the mirror- she replied, shrugging, as if it was the most normal thing on the face of the earth.

It was then, right before the door of the elevator opened, that Lu thought he had seen her, a little clouding on the mirror.

The doors opened on a corridor that, like the mirror in the elevator, went on forever. Anonymous looking doors opened on either side of them. There was no sign, nothing that could help determine which one they needed. But Meg kept on going, sure pace and wide strides. She looked like she really felt at home there. Lu looked at Danni, walking side by side to him. He was struggling to keep his emotions in check. He looked scared, with his jaw clenched too tightly, and the slight tremble of his arms. How much did he trust Meg?

They finally got to the end of the corridor to a special door, double the size of the others. Meg didn't have to knock, the door opened automatically.

Once inside, they found themselves in a wide circular room with the wall of bare stone. The only piece of furniture was the long table right in the middle. What caught Lu's eyes the most though were those huge windows, giving such an extraordinary view of the gardens around and the village nearby. He couldn't stop himself from wishing he could just open them and fly away.

-Meg, you brought guests-

Two men and a woman were sitting at the table. All dress in suits, with a nice, silky red scarf at their necks, covering their scales. The lady, a blond woman in her mid-forties stood up and welcomed Meg with a kiss on her cheek. Danni had said that Meg didn't get along with these people or something. Well, it didn't look like it.

-Welcome gentlemen, take a seat- she said with a smile.

Lu looked at Danni again, he was keeping his eyes on the floor but, quietly, took a seat. The only relief from his mounting anxiety was that they didn't take their weapons away.

The two men were twins, around fifty. And, as they moved to look straight at Lu and Danni, their movements seemed to be perfectly synchronised.

-Welcome creature of the dark- they were looking straight at him know, two depthless pairs of dark eyes, completely dark, no trace of white. He stopped himself from going for his gun.

-We are here because- Danni started, but both men shook their heads.

-First, let's have some food. You must be tired and hungry-

The door opened again and, silently, four demons, tails out, made their way to the table bringing trays full of beautiful food: mountains of pies, cakes, chicken and vegetables. Everything looked delicious, picture perfect and Lu couldn't stop himself from throwing his hands on the food, he was so hungry. And yet, the rational part of his mind wondered why the food didn't smell of anything. And why did the demons stop right at the side of the door?

When all three of them had had enough, the twins stared back at Lu.

-We hear that you are looking for the source of the fog- was there some kind of enchantment in their voices? Lu's muscles relaxed without his consent. His shoulders let go for a minute of all the accumulated tension. Did they put something in the food?

-But before that you want to know what Middle Hill is, what that shadow was taking about-

He knew it. His mind had relaxed so much that the barriers were all down. Easy to infiltrate at that point.

-Why do you want to go to Middle Hill? - they asked.

-Because she was the first Shadow I met- he said against his own will. His mouth had opened, and the words had just fallen out of it. He looked at Meg and Danni, both of them had long, stern expressions on their faces.

-Middle Hill is a place of darkness. Are you sure you want to find it? - they said again, with one of the twins saying half of the sentence, and the other the conclusion.

Lu nodded. They had a mission and his duty was to complete it.

-Your quests are interlinked. We can help with both. But no good deed comes for free-

His mind suddenly snapped back to itself when a pained moaned came from his back. The blonde demon had moved so silently that he hadn't noticed anything. She had dragged in the room a priest from the Church of the Heroes. He could have recognised them anywhere. They had shaved his hair and his angular nose might have been broken in more than one place. The rest of his body was covered by their usual black gown, so the gods only knew what other wounds he had.

-This man made his life mission to kill as many of us as possible- the twins said. Again, with the constant mirroring of movements. Lu's face was still on the man though, sprawled on the floor as the female demon was forcing his head down.

-We will reveal all if you kill this man and make justice for our fallen friends-.

Lu's eyes didn't move from the man on the floor. His body was trembling in fear. Lu had heard him take a deep breath when the twins had voiced their deal. But now, all Lu could hear was the sound of his own blood rushing, pumping at an impossible speed as his mind went blank.

-Kill him, and all you want to know will be yours- he heard them again, the twins. It was the only sound, the only noise reaching him through the buzzing in his mind. And those words were so sweet. Those words made his muscles move easily, no more stiffness, no more fear.

He stood up, right in front of the man. He took his gun out.

And then, suddenly, that pleasant lightness, was gone. He turned around and saw Meg standing up, shouting:

-Your deals are not valid if you compel people-.

That was what it was. The twin demons had the ability to make people do things for them. And now he was right there, standing in that huge room, pointing a gun to a man pleading pitifully at his feet. Lu could barely keep his grip on the gun. He turned to look at Danni, who was staring at him in return, shaking his head.

Why was he saying no? This was the only way to complete the mission. This was the only way to get Danni home, where nobody was going to sacrifice him.

Lu felt his breath becoming shallow. The air didn't come in. No air. No freedom. He was back in prison, again at the mercy of someone else's will.

-Let it go- his shadow appeared right next to the man. For the first time, its presence felt comforting.

-Let it go- he said again.

And Lu listened. Air flooded back in his lungs as his body took charge over his mind and melted away, turning into shadows but not on the floor. He was still upright as the other shadows in the room congregated around him. Melting with him in a black, boiling mess. Expanding and slowly covering everything. Burning everything. They got on the table that started to burn, turning into ashes so quickly, followed by the chairs.

The only thing that Lu saw was a new shadow standing there against the big wide windows. The shadow did not have a face of its own. Lu couldn't see his eyes, or his grin. And yet he was sure that the thing was looking at him. And that the thing hadn't been human for a long time.

He almost screamed when a big, toothy mouth opened up on the shadow's face.

-Do you reject your humanity? - it said with a growl.

What? After a moment of confusion, Lu clicked. That was the prelude to the Last Resort. His own shadow was not the same. He was at the entrance of a world of darkness full of monsters. A world where he was going to use his full potential.

-Do you reject your humanity? - it said again. It was not going to leave without an answer.

Yes, Lu though. Enough of this running and searching for answers nobody wants to give me.

-Stop this-

It wasn't his shadow's voice.

-You said you are with me now. Stop this, you don't need to take the deal-

He knew that voice.

Lu opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Danni, covering the shadow monster as he was standing right in front of Lu, with his arms wide open as if trying to contain all that power gone out of control. He was shaking and his eyes were blown wide open. Why was he so scared? Lu looked at himself. Half of the room was covered in bubbling shadows, a dark lava that had confined everybody in what remained untouched of the room. Lu was standing right in the middle of that monstrosity, not human anymore but all darkness. It felt so pleasant. He was everywhere and nowhere.

-You are with me. And we are free. Screw this. You don't need to kill anybody- Danni said, eyes wide open but muscles stiff with determination now that he had gotten some result. He was almost shouting in that stupid attempt to get to Lu. The shadows started to retreat, revealing the floor and the singed table.

-We can do this Lu, don't worry. We are going to find another way, I promise you- he said, smacking his own chest with a closed fist.

-And we will be free-.

Right under Danni's disbelieving eyes, the shadows retreated, revealing the marble floor and the ashes of the furniture. But Lu wasn't back yet, his tall figure still covered in darkness. Danni had acted out of instinct, but now that his mind was taking charge, he was panicking, unsure of what to do. He wanted Lu back, he wanted him safe, but the shadows could always come back.

-You are free, you are with me- Danni murmured, almost to himself.

But that whisper seemed to get to Lu. The shadows started to let go of Lu's body, firstly revealing his face, then gently falling away from his shoulders and drip down from his hands. Danni rushed forward when he saw Lu stumble forward. He caught him right in time, crashing him into his own body. Lu was breathing hard; his eyes were still close. Danni brought his right hand to his hair to help, wishing that it would somehow sooth him.

-You are with me- Danni said again in the shell of Lu's ear. If those shadows dared to come back again, he was going to personally kick their hidden asses.

-I am with you- hearing his reply made Danni feel a wave of relief wash over him.

-You are free- Danni said, gripping Lu's hair hoping that he could understand his promise. Danni was going to do everything that was in his power to set Lu free.

-I am free- Lu said, in a whisper. Lu's face was so close to Danni's now that he could feel the muscles moving in a smile.

And then a bang. Danni didn't let go of Lu but turned his head enough to see the puddle of blood on the marble pavement. The priest had made use of the confusion to move forward and get the gun Lu had dropped. And, unbeknownst to anybody, had opened his own mouth to welcome the dark metal.

-See, he is dead now, problem solved, can you tell us now what caused the fog? - Meg said, standing up right. Her voice was nonchalant, as if she was talking about the weather, but her tail was out there, wiggling around like crazy.

-To hell with all of this. All they wanted was to get him to release his energy- Danni shouted. His power was buzzing under his skin, inside his ears. He wanted to move and make them pay. Those demons proved no different than John Luce. They wanted a power that did not belong to them and had somehow figure out the right trigger to set it all in motion.

-We are going away- Danni said, trying to contain the anger as Lu held on to him, gripping on his jumper.

-Good luck getting out of here alive- one of the twins said, grinning. It was so disconcerting that his voice was threatening but his body language was that a relaxed man.

-The army has the place surrounded- the other twin said.

Danni's heart sank to the bottom of his chest. They had followed them all the way there! But how? Did Lu's power leave the same traces around like his did? Or had the demons called the army? He looked at Meg, not even trying to conceal the panic in his eyes. But she was looking at the twins, her body slumping, defeated, her eyes dilated and the mouth slightly open.

-You said you were going to help us. You said that- she blubbered. Danni could feel the sense of water to his throat. There was no way out.

-And do you really trust a demon? - they both said at the same time. Danni and Meg looked at each other for a second. Trust.

Did they trust each other?

Meg rushed forward, knife in hand, rage blind. She was quick, very quick, he knew she was going to go for their throats, getting killed in the processed, either by the twins' hand or by the four demons at the door rushing forward themselves to stop her and protect their boss.

-Meg stop! - Danni screamed.

And, for once, she listened, diverting her course to Danni and Lu, who was still too weak to move. Meg's tail stopped moving. A new determination appeared on her face. Her usual smile.

-Hold on tight- she said, before the room disappeared in front of Danni's eyes.

They were back outside the car.

-Quick, jump in- she said, getting on the front seat after giving him the most powerful gun they had.

They sat Lu in the back and Danni in the front, gun ready. Meg started the car so quickly that it sprinted rapidly to the gate that was about to shut. The demons were trying to keep them there.

-They can dream of keeping us here a moment longer- Meg roared, before creating a fire ball in her right hand and chucking it right out at the gate. When the crackling sphere hit the metal gate, it melted, letting them go. The first bullets started to hit the roof of the car right the second they sprinted out. But Danni saw him, the soldier hiding around the corner of the building. And, right when he came out to shot, Danni took him by surprise, the body falling down like a broken doll. But there were others, the bullets were flying everywhere, one destroyed the side mirror near Meg and another nearly missed a wheel.

-Where do they train these people? Crap aim- he shouted, as another body fell on the ground. A rush of adrenaline shot through his body, making him laugh out loud like a mad man.

-Less talking more shooting- she growled right when a bullet bounced back from the hardened skin of her arm.

They left the soldiers behind, but they had three motorbikes now following them, if not more.

-Can you not transport us away? - he said, recharging his gun as Meg started to take the most contorted route, trying to get them off their back.

-I have never tried it with a car, it's already difficult enough with you two idiots- she hissed, not losing her concentration for a second as she started to grind her teeth through another curve.

-You must try. I trust you- he said, finally managing to shoot at the wheel of one of the motorbikes.

-Very funny- she replied, snoring.

-I am serious- he replied. Never been more serious in his life. If someone was going to save them from that mess, it was Meg. Otherwise, for as much as he hated to admit it, the army was going to catch up with them.

-You should- she started, before making a sharp turn to the right. Her fair started to flare around her face, whipping around as if a strong wind was blowing.

-Never- sharp turn to the left. Danni was barely holding on to his seat and gun.

-Trust a demon - she shouted.

And the world around them had disappeared once again.

When Lu came to his sense, he woke up to the smell of grilled meat and vegetables. He was in the back seat of the car, with Meg and Danni in the front, feasting on some take away meal boxes. Where were they? He tried to look out of the windows without giving away the fact that he was awake. All he could see was a sky with deep, dark clouds and short, residential building. Why had they chosen a place like that?

-How long do you think he will be out for? - Meg asked, munching loudly.

-How should I know? - Danni sounded tired and grumpy. Lu could not remember much of what had happened before he lost his senses. Had he done something he was going to regret?

-You seem to have grown quite close- Meg insisted, scooping up us much stuff as possible from the box and, once empty, she chucked it in the front.

-I like him, yes, doesn't mean I know how his body works. With all that weird crap from before- Danni replied, with a sight.

-Wow, something has really changed in you. Only a while ago you would have not confessed that, not even under torture- she replied, giving him a slap on the leg, making him whine.

-Sorry, I forgot-

-Yes, I gather- he replied, giving her a weak slap on her leg.

-Anyway, well, with all this crap around us we don't have the time to play the stupid game. I like him and I trust you. I did tell you I trust you, no? - he replied, going back to their original conversation. By his sullen voice it sounded like he was not in a playful mood.

-You really shouldn't- she replied, shaking her head.

-Why not, you did save us all twice-

-Well three times if you consider John Luce-

-Boastful but honest- Danni took a deep breath and said

-Do you want to tell me what happened with your covenant? -

There was a moment of deep, deafening silence, but then Meg said between gritted teeth:

-I betrayed them in the first place-.

Lu was not expecting that.

-I made a deal with a priest shortly after the fog fell. He was going to give me impunity forever, I could feel free to walk and live my life, no more fighting, no more nothing...if I could reveal the location of my covenant. And that sounded like a good deal to me- she said, hissing the words out of her.

-But the priest never game me impunity and a couple of members of the covenant died in the fight to protect us. I was then trialled by my own kind. They couldn't kill me as I am part of the family, so I was tortured and banned. And then you met me at the cave-.

Danni had listened to the whole thing without saying a word.

-Why are you not saying anything? - Meg's voice was hesitant, the first time Lu had ever heard her that weak.

-Was today a trap? Did you make a deal with your covenant? Did you barter Lu's power for your sake? - Danni's voice sounded murderous.

-They don't make deals with renegades, especially not with me. I brought you there because they promised to help. I had only told them that me and the Resistance were looking for the cause of the fog and they said that they were going to tell us all the truth- she said, dropping her head down.

-I genuinely thought it was worth a shot. I am sorry I was wrong-

Danni was silent again.

-You said you trust me. Is it still true? -.

No answer. Absolute silence.

-Yes, it is still true, I trust you- he said suddenly and assertively.

-You confessed, and you saved us, when you didn't need to, you could have stayed with your people. So yes, I trust you-

Lu stirred louder than he would have done normally. Both heads turned to look at him.

-Eat- Danni said, passing a box to him.

-I think that's grumpy man's lingo for: you freaked us out, but we are both glad you are alive and well- she said, a bright grin sparkling on her face.

-No, it's grumpy man lingo for don't pull stuff like that ever again. Seriously guys, how can I be the sensible one in this group? - Danni said, avoiding looking at Lu as his own ears were turning dreadfully read.

-Weren't you the one that threw himself in front of a bullet? - Meg said

-That doesn't count-

Lu smiled to himself as he opened the food box. It smelled delicious and real, not like the one they were offered at the covenant. It was sweet-smelling chicken and fried vegetables. It had cost them a fortune, that kind of restaurant stuff was extremely expensive.

-Where are we anyway? - he finally asked before swallowing. Oh Gods, it felt so good. Had they decided to celebrate something? Well, there was probably some cause to celebrate when you are still alive after all.

-In an inconspicuous part of Orte. The church is outside town- Meg replied. Lu could feel his head spinning already at the thought of moving quickly to investigate the place.

-But we are not taking a look tonight, tonight we shall drive out of here, find a safe place and sleep in turns- Danni chipped in, finally turning to look at him and smiling a little, while his eyes searched Lu's face from one corner to the other. Lu looked right at him, almost as in a challenge.

-You might want to read this- he then said, passing a thick newspaper. What day was it? Was it already Sunday, with the Sunday special edition?

No, it was a series of special articles and interviews with his team members. Under Lu disbelieving eyes there were pictures of David and Scarlett in one of the rooms at the headquarters and an unending list of personal questions like how they knew him, or if anything had ever impressed them as particularly odd about Lu.

-He was my friend- David had said, probably looking straight at the interviewer, gripping both his knees tightly with his big hands.

-He is a good kid, one of the best- Scarlett added on her part, probably standing up and storming out before the interview was over.

And then, right at the end, there was an interview with Isamund.

-I know Lu Kussack, him and I have a special connection. He will come home, and he will be pardoned for everything that has happened-.

Lu passed a hand over the picture of her. Obviously, that was a message for him. Come home. And his chest burst with the desire to do so. She had been the first to give him freedom, a place, a sense of porpoise. Someone that was not going to abandon him for who he was. And it wasn't her fault, it wasn't her fault if it had quickly become that apparent that he was the best weapon they had. It was not her fault if the war had taken its toll on Lu. It wasn't her fault if...

He looked up at Danni who, on his part, was staring at his every movement.

If someone else's had taught him how to really be free.

-Are you going back home or not? - Danni blurted out, looking straight at him in open challenge.

-I can't, Mary Sol... -

-We wouldn't tell- Danni replied immediately, no hesitation. He had been thinking about it for a while. Meg's eyes were blown open. It was solely his idea, he hadn't shared it with her.

-But the Captain...- Lu said.

-I will deal with him- then he turned to Meg and asked:

-You trust me, don't you? - he said, frowning.

She limited herself to nod.

-I said to you that you are free. And how could you be if you are under blackmail? Me and Meg will find the source of the fog anyway, the Captain doesn't need to know that you weren't with us anymore- he said, looking right in his eyes. He was hardly keeping his anger in, Lu could see small ripples in his vision, the sign that Danni was struggling to keep his power in check. Danni was saying his piece, but clearly didn't like the idea.

Lu smiled and as he shook his head and said:

-We have a fog to dissipate first-.

Meg drove them out of the city, parking next to some wild fields.

-Ok, now it’s my turn to sleep, get out- she said, and Lu didn't reply, letting her get cosy on the back seat, managing somehow to perfectly fit in. She was asleep in no time.

Danni stepped outside, leaning with his back on the car door and Lu joined him. The place was idyllic. They stayed in silence for a little while, but then Danni blurted out, looking right ahead of him, not daring to move:

-It was so scary. The scariest thing I have ever seen-

The Last Resort. Slowly, memories of what had happened had returned to Lu, from the thundering voice of the shadow monster to Danni's, piercing through him right before he could answer. Yes, it had been scary. Lu sighted. Now Danni had seen him for who he was and surely it was only a matter of days before he was going to have the same reaction as his mother and abandon him. Maybe that was why they were offering him a jail free card, to get rid of the crazy monster sitting with them.

Lu's heart skipped a beat at the memory of a woman standing up and screaming.

-I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to reach you- Danni said, shaking his head.

-You really need to teach me more about the way your powers work because-

Lu didn't give him the time to finish the sentence. Not thinking, not caring of the consequences, he stepped forward, took Danni's face between his hands and kissed him.

Perfect stillness. For just a moment, before a pair of warm hands cupped his own face and Danni answered back to the kiss. Hungry and messy, biting Lu's lips to force him to open. To give him more. And more. Lu's body reacted automatically, brushing against Danni's, as his hands travel down Danni's back, wanting to touch everything at once. Danni's arms passed around his waist and dragged him as close as possible.

Forehead to forehead, they both breathed in. Lu smiled for the first time in a while.

-Do you really want to know more about my powers? - He said, not understanding that exhilaration washing over him. Was that joy?

-Yes- one, simple, breathless answer. Danni kissed him again and Lu hugged him tight.

-Do you trust me? - he asked, when, regrettably, he let go.

-Isn't it obvious? - Danni replied, biting his lips with a mischievous smile on his face.

-Open your eyes as wide as you can- Lu ordered.

Danni did as instructed, without asking anything or complaining.

Lu let just one single drop of shadows fall in each of Danni's eyes. Danni shuddered for a moment didn't complain. He didn't move, expecting Lu's orders.

-Close your eyes now, till I tell you to open-

-What is it that you have in mind anyway?- finally some words.

-It's better if you see it with your own eyes- Lu said, feeling as if his heart would burst with expectations. Was he really sharing his world with someone else?

One more second to sunset.

And there was the last day of light of the day, shooting through the sky and opening the world of shadows.

-Open your eyes now-.

Danni slowly opened his eyes, even though they felt slightly sticky. It took a moment to focus, and then another moment to convince himself that no, he was not dreaming, and no, he had not smoked anything. Right in front of his eyes that boring farmland had turned completely: there were nymphs, dancing around, flying and gently stroking the trees that had started to move too, even if there was not even a little bit of wind. The sky was suddenly populated by millions of creatures he had never seen before, colourful birds leaving sparkling trays behind them. He struggled to keep himself from shouting when a dragon appeared, just like he had always imagined them to be, with a sinuous pearlescent body, a huge mane around its head and loads of whiskers everywhere.

-What is it? Where...-

-This is the world of shadows, or at least that's how I have always called it- Lu said. He was standing tall, chin slightly up and a small smile on his face. Small, always a small smile, Danni had figure out now that Lu would never allow himself to have a big smile on. But he looked, for once, immensely proud.

-The last ray of sun opens this world that normal people can't see, only creatures like me-

-How can I then...-

-The drops of shadows in your eyes. It won't last long but it should be enough for a flight if you like-

A flight. He wanted him to turn his arms into wings and fly away with the dragons and the creatures. And Danni would have loved that. It would be the night of his life, the world that Lu had just shown him was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. But if he were to use his powers right then and there, when they were after all not too far from Orte, with its contingent of crazy people at the church, he couldn't risk attracting attention. Fucking bastards' ruining his life once again. And he hated being the sensible one, once again.

-We can't, the trace...-

-Well then- Lu said, taking a rhetorical pause that seem to go on forever.

-Promise me that, the moment the fog is gone, we shall fly before you go back home-.

When the fog is gone. Was he really going to see the fog disappear and be able to breathe again? Going back home. Seeing his mum and sister again. And his father. His heart sank.

-I promise- he said in a whisper.

-What is it? -

-I never thought I would go back. My family probably thinks I am dead after all these years. My father is probably dead-. The thought of his dad made him shiver in fear. He had fought soldiers, loads of them, and monsters and even his own power, but the thought of one single man made him feel frozen in the pit of his stomach.

They were back again on the car, side by side.

-I told you something about me, now is your turn-

-Yeah, but what I can say about me it is not as cool as what you showed me- Danni replied, fidgeting. The pretty creatures and all the magic started to slowly disappear.

-What made you come here in the first place? - Lu asked. Danni turned to look at him, staring.

-I was running away from my father- he said. He really didn't want to talk about it. A really, bad idea. Couldn't they go back to kiss already?

-He was a doctor, some kind of surgeon. A scandal broke out, some kind of cover up of bad management, half of the staff was implicated. My father was accused but cleared- it seemed so distant. A lifetime ago. Someone else's life. As he talked about the series of events that had started it all. God, if he would have known back then...

-Something though had broken in him. He started drinking. He managed to hide it for a while, but how can you hide things like that? It came out and he was fired. Lost all credibility. But didn't lose his drinking skill. And he became violent. Never towards the girls. Always towards me-

-Why you? - Lu asked, grabbing his hand and gripping it with strength.

-He hated that he didn't have the shape-shifting powers. They had skipped a generation. And he wanted it, desperately, but couldn't have it. And he hated that I was using it for stupid things like "food art". That's why I left my home and my country, because I was told that I could follow my dreams. And I did all work hard and followed all the rules. And for a while it was good. It was so good. People liked me. I had a home-

Memories. Images that he had tried to dissipate, to forget, came flooding back like a cascade. The village, Morris, his clients. The little bedroom that he was renting above the bakery in exchange for work. One afternoon when he let himself fall on his bed, thinking that it had been a good day's work because he had made a little girl smile. All those shreds of broken dreams came crashing down, making him choke. But he had to keep going, he couldn't stop now.

-And then they came for me. Two nut jobs, followers of the Church of the Heroes. They attacked me, one late summer night when I was taking a stroll. And the whispers, as I recovered in the hospital. Morris was so supportive, but he started to look around himself more often than before. And the God damn fog and all of this. They have taken everything away from me-.

Lu's arms were suddenly around him. He didn't say a word, simply embraced him.

-The day the fog fell was horrific. The way out shut- Danni leaned into Lu's embrace, hiding his face in the crook of his neck. Breathing him in as the image of that damn boat sinking in the irate sea came to haunt him.

Lu kissed his cheek. Then his forehead.

-We will fly, I promise you-.

They stayed like that for a long time, embracing. Relaxing. Breathing.

Till Danni had an idea:

-Wait, wait, wait, if when the shadow dimension open creatures that you can't see normally appear, can it happen with building as well? - a wave of excitement flooding over him.

-You mean that this place, this Middle Hill, could be hiding away in the shadows? -

-Why not, I mean, it's a possibility, right? That's why the demons knew about it, you all share the shadow world, right? - Danni said, gripping Lu's hand and squeezing with all his strength. And right when the excitement seemed to reach its peak, he realised he was being an idiot: even if this Middle Hill place was really in the shadow dimension, it could be anywhere around the country, it was going to take months to find it.

-I need to find Leerye, maybe she has some info- Lu said, lips reduced to a worried line.

-Where has she been by the way? She could not leave your side while you were zonked out and now, she is nowhere to be seen-

-I know, I'm a bit worried. Let me go and search, will you be ok here? -

-As ok as I'll ever be. We got a tank of coffee from the shop, should still be hot in the flask-.

Lu gave him a quick kiss on the forehead, and he was gone.

Leerye had been gone for too long. She might have lost interest, maybe forgotten how to find him. But it felt strange, especially after she had found him so easily and sneaked in the Foreign Contaminants base. Lu liquefied, left Danni behind even though he didn't want to, and was now flying with the nymphs, chasing them. How late was it? How much time did he still have? The dragon was already nowhere to be seen, usually not a good sign.

-We never thought you were coming back- one of them squeaked, staying slightly behind compared to the others.

-Why would I not be back? - he asked.

-Because Leerye is not back. We assumed that something happened-.

And had they simply moved on? Their friend was missing, and they did not do anything to help? No judgment, different species, different behaviours. And yet it seemed so stupid.

-You might be able to help me though, do you know where a place called Middle Hill is? - he said, wishing to cut this short. If Leerye needed help, there was a chance that Mary Sol's family needed help too.

But, at the simple mention of the name Middle Hill, all the nymphs rushed away screaming in their high-pitched voice.

-Answer me- he shouted, before the nymph he was talking to could have the chance to disappear.

-Middle Hill is hidden between in the Black Valley, deep in the Black Forest. But it's a dangerous place-

-What happened there? Why is it so dangerous? -

-It is where the fog was made- and she flew away leaving Lu dumbstruck.


	9. Middle Hill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lu, Danni and Meg reach Middle Hill.
> 
> Something is waiting for them in the shadows.

They still took the rest of the night to rest, Danni first and then Lu, trying to sleep sitting upright at the driver seat, as neither of them wanted to wake Meg up before their journey to the unknown that was Middle Hill.

And, for the first time in a while, he heard Isamund's voice reaching out to him in the darkness of his mind.

-Can you hear me Lu? - she asked. She sounded concerned.

-Yes, I can- he replied, trying not to think too much. If she could talk to him, what was stopping her from reading his mind? He was going back, sooner or later, but not now, not yet. Not when they were so close! Surely Isamund was going to be happy too, right? Finally, the country could resume connections with the rest of the world. She was going to be so happy and proud of him.

-Where are you? Are you ok? Please come home. We need you. I need you- she sounded so worried. He wanted to make it stop. He tried to reach for the light, that white light that kept on flickering in front of his eyes, but never becoming more than a ghost.

-I can't- he replied. Not, not yet.

-Why not? Please, we need you here, your squad cannot...- the voice seemed to disappear, but the light was still shining.

-Can you hear me? Isamund? -

-We have Mary Sol, please come home to her, she is so worried-.

Lu woke up trembling and saw Danni, quickly entering the car and sitting at his side.

-Are you alright? - he said, putting a hand on Lu's knee. Lu shook his head and then answered:

-Isamund reached out to me in a dream-

-Isamund? The minister? That Isamund? - Danni replied, frowning.

-Yes- he said. Saying out loud sounded even more insane than it was.

-I didn't realise that you were on first name basis with the minister. I mean I recognised her in your memories, but I didn't realise that...- Danni said, still frowning, moving away from Lu.

-We have always been friends, she took me out of the orphanage and brought me to the army-

-So, she is the one that made you a weapon, what does she want now? - Danni replied, crossing his arms to his chest.

\- She told me to come home as they found Mary Sol- Lu replied, hearing the joy in his own voice. Mary Sol was safe and sound back home. Yes!

That seemed to silence Danni, who retreated in his own seat with his mouth slightly open in surprise, not looking at Lu.

-That's good no? She is probably fine, back at her place. She shouldn't have been involved in this in the first place. A retired cleaning lady and a grandmother should not be involved in the fighting- Lu said,

-How many did they kill? Did they find the base? - Danni hissed, crossing his arms to his chest.

-She didn't say no, but- Lu didn't know what to say. No, he hadn't asked. He hadn't had the time, and, probably, even if the communication had been better, he wouldn't have asked, so happy to hear about Mary Sol. But of course, Danni was going to worry about that.

-Do you want to call your boss and find out? - Lu asked, fearing that though because, if the army had already gotten in the base, they could potentially track his calls. Danni looked at him for a minute in complete silence, sinking his head between his shoulders.

-Are you going home? - he said then, taking Lu aback.

-Shouldn't you be worried about the rest of the Resistance? For all we know they are all dead - the memory of the small Harpy girl made him feel like a terrible person for not having though about it earlier.

-If they are already dead there is nothing I can do, and if they are not then why should I worry for those that did not come to help me when my powers were out of control? And answer my question, damn it- he said, letting the anger flow out. Lu felt a jolt of pain in his head and everything started to get a bit blurry. Not good if you are driving. That was a thing they needed work on if they were ever going to win their war game.

-No, of course I won't. I promised, remember? - Lu replied.

-Moron- he added, giving him a gentle punch on the leg.

Danni was still for a moment, looking outside the car. Then, right when Lu was about to give him another punch, or anything to make the silence break, Danni hit his leg and said:

-You still don't have a cool nick name for me, Shadowman-

-I will get there, just give me time- he replied as he felt a weight lifting from his chest. He finally could enjoy the last big gulp of coffee.

Meg did not seem to notice when Lu started the car up.

-Shall we let her sleep? - he asked Danni, who was trying to work out on his phone the quickest route to the Black Forest. It was up north, close to the highest mountain range in the country. It was not the type of place where families and friends go to have a picnic. It was more the kind of place where you go if you don't want to be found anymore. Many people disappeared there over the years, some willing to do so. Some not so willing. It was dangerous, and they needed to find the most dangerous part of it all.

-Yes, for as much as she tried to hide it, she used so much energy to move us all and the car away from danger- Danni replied, glancing back at the sleeping demon. She looked almost peaceful.

-I think we should aim to keep on driving till we get there, taking turns-

-Did the nymph not give you any details at all? Nothing? -

-I was already lucky that one of them said something. All the others flew away before I had time to speak- he replied, gripping his hands on the wheel.

-So, they are faster than you after all- Danni replied. Lu could see his smirk in the corner of his eye.

-They wish- they were never going to win against him, not in a million years.

-So, you do have a competitive spirit-

-Don't you? - it seemed obvious, everybody has at least one thing they excel at, right?

-Well one time I took part in a baking competition. The first year I participated I missed the first price by three points to this middle-aged man that thought himself to be the gods' gift to mankind. I am sure he had bribed the judges, his cake was not that great, it looked so boring-

-Yep, yep, keep telling yourself that- it was the first time in forever that Lu felt playful. Mary Sol was saved. They had a very secure lead to finish the mission. Everything was going to be ok. Danni and Meg were not going to be threatened anymore. And he was going to be a hero. He smiled to himself, feeling like a complete idiot. But one can dream sometimes, right?

-You saw what I can do, I am the best- he said, crossing his arms to his chest.

-Speaking of that, how do you actually...-

-I can include some of my shape shifting powers into things. It doesn't last long, a day tops, but it's usually enough for me to deliver a cake, amaze my clients and let them eat something without freaking them out thinking they are eating something alive. Although one time a group of boys wanted exactly that for a Halloween party-

-It sounds like you had a good time- Lu said, smiling. It sounded idyllic, the nice villagers, the cakes and the happy customers.

The kind of setting thought were voices and suspicions spread like wildfire. Lu always preferred the anonymity of the city, hands down.

-Which makes it all the worse. I was building something, I... - Danni shook his head.

-Enough of that, what will be the strategy when we get there? -

Strategies. So far, they had been lucky, going from one battle to the other scraping by thanks to their powers. But what was lurking in that secret place to scare the nymphs so much? It was something dark and malicious, something Meg's covenant might have dealt with in the past.

-I really don't know I'm afraid- he said, gripping the wheel. It was making it all the worst, the not knowing.

And, as the day started to turn into the evening, they left civilization behind and entered the north of the country. The landscape was so vast, you could look around and not see a house for miles and miles. The mountains were getting taller, they passed a couple of crystal-clear lakes, and the air felt so fresh you could almost taste. Beautiful.

-We shouldn't be too far- He finally said. Danni kept his eyes out of the window while Meg popped her head between the seats and said:

-Right, what's the plan boss? -

-We need to be ready for whatever comes at us. The nymph said basically nothing-.

And Danni didn't say anything.

They knew they were in the right place where they arrived in a valley in between two steep mountains. There was nothing there, just the grey of an evening sky, the yellowish green of wild fields and trees as far as one could see. From his point of view, it didn't look that scary.

-So, are we going in? - Danni said as they packed on themselves as many weapons as possible. He still locked grumpy and Lu himself couldn't calm himself down. Really not a good start for what they were about to do.

-Wait a second. The place is called Middle Hill, right? So, it should be a hill in the middle- Meg said, looking around.

-It might become apparent in a second- Lu replied. He explained what he needed to do with their eyes, and Meg opened hers wide, no questions asked.

The last ray shot around the place and magic flooded their world. A hill, right in the middle of the forest, appeared out of nowhere.

-Wow- Meg said, as they started their march.

Lu was expectant. One step after the other, he was getting closer and closer to what might be the truth they were seeking. The truth he was seeking. Were there going to be other shadows lurking around? That Pandora they met in Kohan could be there too. Somebody was going to tell him what happened to him. Somebody was going to tell him why his mother had abandoned him in an orphanage without saying goodbye.

It was going to be fine, everything was going to be resolved, and he was going to be happy.

And then he heard it, a voice, a fresh music that made him think of the dripping of spring water. His feet started to walk faster, he was now running, feeling the cool air of the evening lush around his face. He wanted to start laughing as his heart was about to burst with happiness and...

-Stop- his own voice, and yet external. His shadow appeared in front of him, barely visible in the dim light of the forest.

-It's a spell, the trees here sing to attract their preys-

He could feel it. The pull. That music was rushing down in his ear, just like the demon's spells. A dark spell. Well that was a good start.

-How can I fight it? - he said, struggling to keep his own body from moving.

-What do you think, shadow earplugs- his other self-replied.

-What's further ahead, do you know? - how did the shadow know that the trees were a problem when he didn't know himself? Lu promised himself that he was going to stop using his shadow for a while after the fog was gone.

-I don't know, but watch out for your back- was the answer, before he disappeared as Meg and Danni caught up with him.

-Were you affected too? - Meg said, putting a hand of his shoulder. Lu almost jumped at the touch, his body struggling to resist the urge to run again.

-Yes- he replied. The itching in his legs getting worse.

-Danni too- she said, tapping on her ear. Danni then turned around and showed his right ear. He had changed his shape, closing his ear up as if it had been sewn together. Lu couldn't help it, he moved forward and touched it lightly. It was nice and solid work. It looked a lot worse than it was.

-You were not affected- Lu said to Meg, more as an affirmation than a question.

-No, I think this spell was cast by a demon, that's why is not working on me-

-Better that way, you will need to be our ears- he said, before whipping his hand and getting the shadow of the night to create earplugs for him.

They followed Meg around the place. Soon it was too dark to see anything much further away than his own nose, but she created a fire hall in her hands, making it bounce around in her palm. Lu really wished she would stop doing that because that forest was thick and, if for whatever reason the ball was to slip through her fingers, they were going to all go up in smoke.

Nothing came out to attack them. Nothing. Maybe his perception of time was changing in that darkness, but minutes were ticking by and nothing was coming, they were able to work freely in the forest. Whoever had put that spell on the trees was crafty, what else had they in mind? Who were they? Lu was on edge and he could tell that Danni, walking right next to him, was not calm either. His right hand was at his belt where Lu knew he had a gun ready for action, the one with the silver bullets because you never know. But they were not going to die there. Not on his watch.

Suddenly, Meg stopped. So did the two of them. Lu didn't like this not hearing thing.

-It's coming- his shadow again, right in his mind.

-Who is it? -

-The Past-

-What? -

But the answer came right at him. Barely illuminated by Meg's fire hall, twenty soldiers, dressed in a black combat uniform, came running at them. It took him a second, but he noticed that the soldiers were ghosts. The light from Meg's fire balls was shining through them, showing their damaged skin. Every single one of them looked as if they had been through a fire, their skins burned to a crisp.

Poor sods. It had probably been the cause of their death. Well, if he was going to get a minute after dealing with the fog, he was going to try to find their bones to burn and finally let them go and have their peace.

One small, insignificant problem. The ghosts were not of the same peaceful disposition. Some of them circled Lu, but that was a bad, bad mistake. Before they could grab him, Lu let few drops of shadows trickle down his hands and threw them at the ghosts, making them explode on contact. Their ethereal essence turned into a pile of dust. He turned around to his friends in time to see Meg do the same with the ones that were attacking her, managing somehow to send out half a dozen fire balls.

But Danni didn't have the same type of powers. He was not a creature of darkness, he couldn't make things explode. And Lu was too late. He saw the whole thing in slow motion, one of the ghosts flying right into Danni's body, who fell face forward on the ground.

-Go to hell- Lu screamed, getting rid of the remaining ghosts that disappeared with a high peach screech.

Danni's body wasn't moving. Lu and Meg reconvened to each side of him. Neither of them said a thing, they only looked at each other for a moment. Meg was frowning, her tail moving quickly. She probably knew too about the dangers of possession, about the enhancement of body and soul. And about how difficult it was to eradicate a ghost from someone's body if you didn't have a properly trained exorcist.

Suddenly, Danni started to laugh as he stood up.

-I am alive-

-Who are we speaking with? - Lu asked. Diplomacy could work. Hell no, but it was worth a shot.

-Lieutenant Goldings. Deceased ten years ago. Cheating fucking death from one minute ago-

-You are going to leave him, willing or not- Meg hissed, getting a fire ball ready. Danni turned to face her, towering in all his height. A living menace.

-Lieutenant Goldings, one of Regiment 12? - Lu asked. Vague, very vague memories from his time in training. Half of Regiment 12 had died due do a forgotten land mine exploding unexpectedly. Yes, it had happened right in the Black Forest!

-Yes, Regiment 12. The most loyal. We were the special guard of the minister- Danni's facial traits started to get distorted. One moment he looked like himself. The next his skin was melting, and his eyes were not the nice blue Lu liked, but a strange shade of red.

-You all died while serving your country. Why are you not at rest? You should leave this dark place and go in peace- he recited feeling like a traitor. Those were bit of sentences and prayers he had heard from the priests when attending special services with his squad. He hated that, but it was coming handy now.

-We were betrayed- Danni growled, running at Lu. He was much faster than Danni was, reaching Lu in a second and punching him right in his stomach, making him tumble backwards. Body enhancements. What else was Danni now capable of?

-Hey, dumbass, stop it- Meg replied, rushing forward herself, but Danni shot at her, hitting her right in her thigh before getting back to fight Lu in hand to hand combat. Lu assumed a defensive position, stopping most hits, not having any time to attack in any way. It was not Danni, Danni was not that fast. The possession was making him so much faster.

-You don't need to fight me, we can help you- Lu said between gritted teeth, trying not to think too loudly that he only wanted his friend back. He couldn't be sure that the ghost was not reading his mind.

-Nobody can help me. Nobody can. People abandoned us here, nobody came for us. All they wanted was for us to do their dirty work. We did it and Death was the only prize we got-. Anger. The ghost was angry and was possibly feeding off Danni's own anger issues, making it an explosive cocktail. If the ghost was to produce too much energy in Danni's body, there was the potential for it to explode. And he was not ready to see that happening.

-You are angry, I understand, so am I-

-You are just a Shadow, what do you want to know? - Danni had told him that before. Danni gave him a powerful kick, making Lu fly.

-What do you want to know about anger? - Danni pinned him down with such strength that Lu couldn't move as Danni stole his knife from his trousers and pressed it close to his face.

Lu quickly liquefied and slipped away from his grip.

-Ten years ago. Loyalty to the minister- and then, staring a Danni as if they were two captive animals, Lu clicked.

-Isamund's father was minister then. What did he do to you? -

-He broke the deal he made. They all broke their deal. They broke their promise-.

Promise. Danni had used that word. What the hell was happening?

-Come and fight me like a man-

Danni. That was Danni sentence. Was the ghost feeding off Danni's memories, or was he fighting back?

-Danni, you need to kick him out-

-No- Danni growled, the skin going back to the mashed-up mess of burnt flesh that didn't flick back to normal as he sprinted towards Lu.

-I got this body. It is mine and I shall get my revenge-

Then, for a moment, Lu was sure to have seen panic in Danni's eyes. But was it Danni's or Lieutenant Goldings'? Danni knelt on the ground, howling like an animal as he brought his hands to his hair and started to pull like a maniac.

Lu dropped to the ground too, wanting to stop him. The howling sounded pained, was the ghost already corroding Danni that much?

-Danni please- Lu said, trying to get hold of those hands, but the grip was so strong, and it was not letting go.

-No, you need me. We could do great things together- Danni said. The burnt face was flickered back to Danni's normal skin and then back again.

-Please leave him- Lu said, more to himself than anybody else.

-If there is someone who is angry here, that is me- Danni shouted, punching the ground. Lu was hit by a wave of energy, as if a small explosion had just happened. For a few moments, he couldn't hear or see anything.

But it was no explosion. Danni had sent the ghost out of his body and now the little particles of dust that were left of it were dancing around Danni's slumped body.

-He did it! - Meg shouted, still unable to move. But Lu could. He crawled forward, taking Danni gently in his arms. His eyes were shut, but he was breathing, nothing seemed damaged. His skin was back to normal.

-You did it, I don't know how but you did it- he said, touching Danni's face. It felt warm. Normal, nice and warm.

-You are such a sap Shadowman- Danni replied, suddenly opening his eyes with a cheeky smile.

-Idiot, I was worried- Lu replied, shaking his head as he smiled.

-I know- Danni replied, averting his eyes.

-It was terrifying- and now he knew how Danni had felt during the aborted Last Resort. He was not keen on doing any of this again.

-But you have seen my security systems, nobody can stay in my brain for too long- he said, before adding in a whisper:

-You didn't have to worried-

-Still...-Lu didn't know what to say anymore.

-No more possessions though, been there, done that, not again-

-Shall we see how the evening proceeds? - then the nice, relaxed smile disappeared from Danni's face as he stood up suddenly.

-The whole experience was horrible, but I had the chance of seeing part of Lieutenant Goldings' memories. They all died when the raided the place on the hill. It was difficult to see but- Danni took a moment to catch his breath, trying the stabilise himself after looking a bit wobbly on his feet.

-There was a big explosion and what looked like the- he turned to face Lu, swallowed and said:

-The burning shadows from the demons' covenant-

This time it was Lu's time to swallow hard. The burning shadows could mean Shadows. Lots of others like him. And the Last Resort.

-Well, we need to move forward- he managed to say, feeling his heart racing in his chest.

They straightened up and were ready to go again. They didn't need to have the earplugs anymore, the music seemed to be gone.

-Which is not a good sign. I wonder if someone is watching us- Meg said, as she struggled forward. She had patched up her injury while Lu was busy with Danni, but it was still painful. Still, she had refused all help.

Lu had the same feeling. His skin was crawling and itching. Without telling either of his friends, he had sent shadows in every direction, giving the order of looking for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. Nothing had come back. Utter silence. This thing, whatever it was, was crafty.

Nothing else happened, their way was completely unimpeded all the way to the castle. From the distance, Lu couldn't see how magnificent the building on the Middle Hill was. But, as they grew closer, it appeared in all its beauty: it was a wide, red bricked building stretching out from a central staircase that led to the main front door. Many oval shaped windows opened here and there, but no light from any of them. A big fountain in the shape of a dragon gave a touch of elegance to the front of the entrance. Lu hoped that it was not going to come to life and burn them all to a crisp.

-What is this place? - Danni said, not hiding the venom in his voice.

The main door opened. Silently, the three of them went up the stairs.

-Shall we go in? - Lu said when they got to the top with a bad feeling about all of it. Meg was already moving forward, limping away.

-Wait a minute-

-Why should we? We have waited long enough in this horrible place- she said before trying to step in the building. But, right as she did it, she was propelled backwards, almost falling on her injured leg.

-What the?- She said, as Danni tried too, but could not move forward. Lu didn't try, standing there like a lemon with his heart pounding away.

-I think you will need to go on your own, Shadowman- Meg said then, sitting on the cold floor. Lu exhaled. It was his suspicion, and he hated to hear it out loud.

-No, no chance. We all go together- Danni replied, shaking his head vigorously.

-I don't think he has a choice, you idiot. If what you saw in the memory is true, this place is for Shadows, and possibly for Shadows only after what happened- Meg's logic made sense, and it was worth a shot, but Lu couldn't help but hesitating a moment.

-Nobody is going anywhere by themselves. It's too dangerous. We will find another way, we always do- Danni replied, refusing to let it go.

Lu bit his lips. Yes, they could spend time thinking about other ways to get around things, but the place was dangerous, they were already hurt and bruised, and he needed to get rid of that stupid fog to get back to Mary Sol.

Meg's logic was undisputable.

He grabbed Danni, kissing him hard before rushing in. Finding no obstacle.

The moment he stepped in the darkness, the first thing he noticed was the smell of an environment that had been closed for too long. There was something comforting about it, the same smell of the cellar in Mary Sol's house. Then, suddenly, that feeling went down the drain when half a dozen of torches lit up around the long, rectangular, wooden surroundings. Live flames didn't seem sensible, but he didn't really have time to judge how those torches seemed ready to fall right on the tapestries covering the walls. Some of them looked damage, decoloured in places, but he could still make out the stories portrayed there: one of them was obviously the signing of the law for the protection of the Shadows. He could see the country officials with a golden pen in his hands bending over a table, surrounded by human like figures but all coloured in dark grey and black. The Shadows he was freeing. There were some others that looked like fights, one that seemed to suggest an explosion. And one set right in that very room, with loads of soldiers in combat uniform storming the place. The Shadows were surrounded. The memory Danni saw.

-You are finally here- a woman's voice made Lu jump. He looked around but couldn't spot her, not around him or at the top of the stairs going up. She had to be a Shadow. Any tell tail signs of her presence? Any shifting in the dark? He was about to order his shadow to go and search, but, suddenly, she appeared. Well, she appeared to him in a standing up position, but she was still a shadow, an intangible dark figment. In the light of the torches he could perhaps make out some facial traits, but most of it was lost.

-Who are you?-

-You don't recognise me? - she said, with a sneering tone.

-Should I? - he was starting to get nervous. He didn't like that place and he didn't like that shadow. Why was she not crystallising? Was there something stopping her? He wished the first real conversation with someone like him could be a bit less stressful than the encounter in John Luce's place.

-You and your friends saved me from my captivity in Kohan-

-Pandora? - he said and, perhaps for a second, he could make out the hint of a smile.

-Yes. Thank you again for rescuing me- she said, sounding genuine. But he couldn't put his guard down.

-I would love to say you would have done the same-

-I am the last mistress of this place- she said, making an ample gesture with her arms.

-Yes, but what is this place? - Lu was starting to lose it. He wanted and deserved answers. And the sooner the better, so that they could finally deal with the stupid fog.

-This is the spiritual home of all Shadows. Where the knowledge of our specie is kept for the future-

What future? What was she talking about? He was the last man standing, he had never heard of another human Shadow in the real world.

Suddenly, a dozen other Shadows appeared all around Lu, surrounding him.

-As you can see, no, you are not the only one left. We might not have our human bodies anymore but-

-Is this what killed the soldiers then? The Last Resort performed by all of you? - He hissed, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. Did they all abandon their human form?

-Yes. We all renounced our humanity when it became too much of a burden. No one can ever imprison a Shadow- she said, taking a step forward.

-But we didn't know that there was someone there, ready to catch our energy- she said and, suddenly, Lu felt a cold shiver going down his spine, even though the fires were still burning bright and high in the room.

-Who was it? What did he do with it? -

-The Prime Minister, Lenor Rose-

Isamund's father. Lu was still for a moment, unsure of how to take that answer. He was expecting to hear of some demon, of some terrifying enemy that had managed, somehow, to use those poor soldiers for his designs. He was not expecting that name and he laughed.

-Really? The Prime Minister? And you expect me to believe that? - Lu could hear his voice become more and more hysterical.

Pandora moved forward, stopping when she was mere inches away from Lu's face.

-Do you know how he died? - she said quickly.

-He had a heart attack and was buried after a state funeral- Lu said, steeling himself. She was much older than him and surely much more capable with shadow tricks. In a one to one fight, he was going to lose.

-Have you ever seen the body? -

-Obviously not- Lu replied, acutely aware that the other Shadows had also gotten closer to him.

-His body was never buried because it was pulverised by the explosion of power, just like the rest of his soldiers-

-Admitting that what you are saying is right, then he failed anyway and...-

-Before coming for us, he went to the demons, the same ones from where your friend comes from-

Lu couldn't help shivering at what he knew Pandora was going to say.

-And he made a deal-

-What did he bargain? -

-The only things demons are really interested in. Their own preservation at the expense of everyone else and harvesting souls. He was going to give his soul to them and their safety in exchange for the power to divide and conquer the people of this land and make himself the absolute leader-

-And the power was yours- Lu heard himself whisper.

-Yes. There was only one thing he didn't expect. The demons told him only the greatest mage of the generation could contain such power. And, for as strong as he was, he was not the strongest, so he died like all the rest of them-

-So, he went to hell? -

-No, the Fates made it so that his spirit lingered, as he still had unfinished businesses on earth. He thought that the bargain with the demons was then cancelled, after all he never put his plan into place, right? But he was wrong. The sins of the fathers fall on their children, that's a law of dark magic, thus Isamund became the bearer of the deal, sealing the fate of her soul-

-What did she do?-

-Unbeknownst to her, she was convinced to come and visit us, she was successful in harvesting the power that still lingered here and, three years ago, brought the plan forward, creating the fog-

-Why the fog in particular? Couldn't she have used anything else? -

-What's the easiest way to control people? Divide them, make them fear their neighbour. Make them fear their own family. And they will listen to the first strong person who come forward to restore order-

She was lying, she had to be. Isamund was generous and kind. Isamund would have not designed a plan like that.

-You don't have any proof-

-Come with me- she said, turning her back at him, directed to the stairs. Lu followed.

The first floor was again covered by touches, again completely made of wood. They passed a big room with doors wide opened. Lu quickly gave it a glance: it was a big and dusty library.

Pandora opened a door on the right revealing a group of creatures busy working on what looked like a tapestry. It was almost done and yes, there was Isamund, he would have recognised her even blind. In the tapestry she was standing tall, her right arm up above her head, with a grey cloud covering her hand. The same shade of grey he had seen in the previous ones showing the shadows.

Still, it could have been anything.

Then he looked at the creatures again: old, wrinkly creatures hidden by long, black, hooded capes. But what took Lu's breath away was that all the three of them had only one eye between the three of them and they were passing it to each other, studying him in turns.

They were the Fates.

He turned to stare at Pandora.

-They cut the threads of people's lives and create tapestry to remember their deeds. Of course, something like what Isamund did was going to appear here-

-Why did she do this? Did her father brainwash her? -

-She couldn’t say no to her controlling father. But her actions don't interest me. Your next move is the one I want to know-

-Why mine?- he said

-There was a clause in the deal that Lenor signed. A backup plan so to speak. If the demon's immunity was to ever be gone against, a hero would rise to make justice-

-A demon then? Why don't you ask them? - he said, his heart starting to pound away, faster and faster, almost jumping out of his chest.

-It didn't have to be a demon. The Fates pick whoever they please- she replied. Again, he saw a trace of a smile in that darkness.

Lu's legs became so weak that they barely kept him up.

-Why? Why does it have to be me? -

-Isn't it obvious? The moment you brought that demon boy in, the moment the demons' impunity was broken, your destiny, like Isamund's, was sealed-

Lu couldn't breathe. The moment when the promise to keep demons safe was broken.

-I was just following orders- he said, struggling to breath.

-So was she. And her choice led to people dying on both sides of a war she created to have herself and her father in power-.

Lu looked at his hands in the light of the torches. What had he done to have to bear all of this?

-Why should I believe you? -

Pandora laughed.

-You still don't believe me even after everything I showed you? You should believe me for the simple fact we are both Shadows. But I can show you something else-.

In the blink of an eye she was so close to Lu's face that, if she was still a breathing creature, he would have felt her breathe on his face.

-Stay still- she said, before closing the distance between the two of them and stepping into Lu's body.

When Lu opened his eyes, he was still there, in Middle Hill, right where Pandora had appeared to him first. He lifted his hands, and they were not his, they were smaller, more tapered hands and then he clicked: Pandora was showing him a memory from her past, from her own point of view.

And, right in that past, sweat was running down her spine and a bulky man was holding her strongly by the waist, shoving a cold, metallic thing right at her temple. It was a gun.

-Order them to release their powers- the man said in a stern voice. Lu turned his eyes to the right as much as he could, and there was no mistaking it: Lenor Rose, with his bushy ginger beard and big, ivory framed glasses, was staring back at him with dilated pupils and flaring nostrils.

-No- Pandora replied, trying one more time to reach for the shadows, but Lu knew that one wrong movement and the six people he could see straight ahead where going to be killed by the soldiers restraining them.

-They die today anyway, I can spare you if you order them to-

-No, I will die with them- she shouted.

And, right before Pandora released all her powers with the Last Resort, Lu heard five little words whispered in the most caring of voices:

-My dear, I am sorry-.

And Pandora stepped out of him. She shook herself for a moment, not saying a word.

-I am...-Lu said before she interrupted him.

-Shut up, there is more for you to see-

She snapped her fingers and one of the eyeless Fates came forward with something that Lu would have recognised everywhere: a power absorbing device looking exactly like the ones that they would put in the hideouts of the Foreign Contaminants to collect their powers.

-I know you know what this is. But do you know where that power is sent? -

Lu didn't have any voice left in his chest. He simply shook his head.

-Isamund collects it, she needs it to keep the fog up-.

Lu took a deep breath.

-Is it enough now? Do you believe me? -

Lu looked down and took a deep breath.

-What do I have to do? - he said, closing his hands and looking straight at Pandora.

-The choice is yours. You can go back to your army, side with them and kill all the remaining Foreign Contaminants you have in this land, harvesting power for a tyrant, or you can kill the mage, break the spell and let the fog fall, freeing not only the Foreign Contaminants, but all the people of this land that had forgotten the feeling of the sun on their skin. It is up to you. But you need to be quick, they have your nymph. She won't resist much longer. They will find the way to get to the Foreign Contaminants' base-.

Lu took a deep breath breathe.

-I will need your help-.

Time was passing by and Lu was not coming out. Danni was pacing up and down, too nervous to even think about stopping.

-You will make a hole in the earth and you will fall to the other side- Meg grinned, as she sat against the wall of the building. Dawn was coming, soon the shadow dimension was going to close. How the hell were they going to find him again?

-You know he can defend himself, right? -

-Right yeah, just like how he went all monstery at your place, right? - he hissed. No explosions or strange lava thing. Not yet anyway.

-You are very cute-

-Shut up-

Suddenly, a shadow appeared.

-Lu? - Danni asked. But no, it wasn't Lu.

-He is not here anymore- a male voice said.

-What do you mean? Where is he? -

-He is gone. So should you-

And the Shadow disappeared.

-Wait, come back you bastard- Danni shouted, barely keeping his anger in. He slammed his first on the door that, promptly, send him flying back towards the staircase.

-Come out- he should again, completely obvious to Meg's voice on her phone saying:

-Captain, we have a problem -


	10. "You Can't"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danni receives an important message from an unlikely source

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter before the big storm on the horizon.

After he knocked on the green coloured door on Pinecone Drive, Lu stood there counting. One, two, three, four, why wasn't anybody opening the door? But then, before he was truly ready for this, Mary Sol herself opened. Her scalp was covered by a deep purple scarf. The bruises were still visible on her face, but she was standing proud. When she recognised him, her eyes grew wide and dragged him in a tight hug. Neither of them said anything for a while, just embracing like that in the middle of the road. Lu felt his body, stiff as a board at first, start to finally relax. And his eyes stung a little.

-Oh, my gods! How are you? When did you get back? -

-I am fine, Sol, I am ok-

-No, you are not, you are far too thin. You could stay with us, we can spoil you for a bit and- she said, unable to stop the flow of words.

-You are the one that was kidnapped, and you are fussing over me? - he said, disentangling from the hug.

-So were you, or so I'm told- she replied, crossing her arms to her chest. For a moment he saw the bemused scolding expression he used to see at the orphanage.

-I would love to, but I can't stay long- he said, shaking his head. He could imagine how Danni felt like when he had to turn down his offer to fly again.

-Can I treat you to something then? Just come inside for a moment- she said, quite a cheeky smile. He nodded. She led him to a cosy kitchen, big enough to cook for the big family leaving there. Lu smiled looked at the pots and pans in the sink still needing a wash.

Mary Sol opened up about what had happened to her. She had first been contacted by someone saying that Lu was in danger and that, if she wanted to help him, she needed to meet with them at such and such time near the Sanctuary. But she was not stupid, not sir, so she had hanged the phone in their face and went to the base immediately. Once there she couldn't manage to talk to anybody since everything was in such a state after the attack. But she didn't give up and waited there, standing near the guards at the entrance till someone took pity on an old silly buffoon and gave Big Dave permission to go and talk to her.

-He was the one that told me about your disappearance, poof, nobody knew where you were. At that point I got worried, really worried. And that's how, out of stupidity, when they contacted me again, I went straight to the meeting point. My memory is fuzzy after that. I remember when they cut my hair after I refused to tell them what I knew about your powers- She said, lowering her gaze to the coffee in her hand, playing a little with the cup.

-They continued and continued to harass me, beat me, until they finally stopped. I don't know what happened, but suddenly they didn't ask me anymore questions, I was alone most of the time, well, sort of alone, there was always a creepy man with a mask in the room with me-

-It was when they blackmailed me into finding the cause of the fog- he said, in a whisper. Of course, it had to be then, when they realised that she was more useful kept healthy and unharmed for him to worry and give them the answers they were looking for.

-What? What cause? -

He smiled sadly.

-That was exactly my reaction. But I went along with it, hoping to force my companions to tell me where you were and come to your rescue, but then...- he shook his head. It still felt like a dream, maybe a part of him wanted it to be a product of his imagination, but he had seen the Moirai. He had been told too many truths.

-You found it?- she said, frowning, clutching her cup so hard that it was a miracle it didn't break. Her eyes had suddenly gone so wild, waiting for him to tell her the answer.

He simply nodded.

-That is huge! Can you get rid of it now? - she asked, a huge smile spreading on her face.

Lu nodded again, unable to speak.

-So why is it still up? Do you need help? What can I do for you? - she said, immediately stepping back in her motherly role. In all this mess, he was so happy that she was alive and well.

He shook his head, looking at his hands abandoned in his lap. He didn't want to touch his food.

-What have I always told you? I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong- she said, crossing her arms to her chest.

-I don't know if I have the strength to do what I need to do- he said, finally lifting his eyes to look at Mary Sol. Saying out loud, confessing to someone that he was scared beyond all reasons, made him feel a little better.

She smiled, warmly, stretching a hand across the table for him to grab.

-You are the strongest person I have ever met. I saw you overcoming all the obstacles this crazy world has put on your path. You will do it again, I know it- she said, nodding along.

-It's not that easy this time- he replied, still refusing to grab her hands.

-And you can't tell me? -

He shook his head. It was better for her if she didn't know anything more than that.

-Ok then, fair enough, maybe we can change the subject. Well, you can tell me about these companions of yours as you eat your food before it gets completely cold-

He looked up from the table. Yes, that was something he could share with her, but where to start?

-They were interesting, to say the least, a demon and a shape shifter-

-A shape shifter? I didn't even know those existed anymore- she said, excitement filling her voice. Something she was more of a kid than the kids she was looking after.

-I don't think there are many left. Not in this country for sure anyway. His powers were very interesting though, amazing to see him turn his body at his will. But he was easy to anger, making it difficult to keep his powers in check but he was such a fighter, if reckless and-

-You liked him a lot- Mary Sol said.

-Well, considering he was the one to kidnap me, I don't know if I should-

-Should I be concerned? Are you having a case of Stockholm's syndrome? - she said, laughing.

Lu smiled.

-Maybe. I don't know. He just- he took the cup of coffee in his hands. Maybe after all he was going to be fine to eat and drink something.

-He understood what being in prison means-

Mary Sol's lips bent to the right as she looked at him with a cheeky gleam in her eyes.

-So, if you get rid of the fog, would he be free, too? -

-Maybe. I don't know-. He made a choice. And there was no way for both of them to be free.

He said goodbye to Mary Sol, making her promise not to tell anybody he was back and free. She didn't ask the reason why and he hoped she was going to maintain the secrecy. He didn't need the Containment Squad to know that he was back.

-That was really touching- Pandora said, appearing suddenly next to him.

Lu didn't reply as he followed her to a safe location, where they could see chaos unfold till Lu's opportunity came along.

-Are you not turning? - she asked

-No, I want to hold on to my body a little longer, thank you very much-

-Why? What's the point? It only slows you down-

Lu didn't reply. Lowered his gaze to his hands.

-Do you remember the feeling of having a body? -

Pandora didn't reply for a long time.

-Yes-

-Don't you miss it? -

Again, she took a very long time to reply. Lu looked at her from the corner of his eyes but, of course, nothing could be judged from her shadowy figure and he wished he could. It would have been a small solace to know that he was not alone on the verge.

-Yes, I do-.

-Who was the darling you thought about before the Last Resort? -

-Somebody I lost a long time ago- she said in a whisper.

-Are you angrier about the loss of your body or theirs?

No answer.

Danni threw the book he was skim reading to the other side of the room. It fell on the floor with a horrible thud.

-What? Man, you need to calm down, this is not going to work otherwise- Meg said. Her leg wound had not healed very well, and now she was crouching on the floor, reading through an old magic book that she had, somehow, stolen from the Captain's library, in the desperate attempt of finding anything that could help them getting back on their feet. Since coming back to base, they were hiding in Danni's room, too scared to show too much of their ugly mugs to the rest of the base's inhabitants.

-This is not going to work, damn it- Danni growled, looking around the place but not taking a step forward, even though part of him wanted to get the phone back and call that idiot. Please forgive me. What was that all about? Obviously, he was not going to keep his promise, but was there more? Why couldn't he listen to him and come back?

-Your positive attitude is inspiring- she replied.

And then Danni's phone, abandoned on his table, rang again.

Danni rushed forward, without a moment of doubt.

-Lu, stupid idiot, move your ass and come back-

-Come out of your base- a female voice said.

-Who is this? -

-Isamund Rose-.

Danni's heart skipped a beat as he rushed outside.

-Hey! What the...- he heard Meg saying, but he didn't have time to waste by leading her out, hopping about. He rushed through the corridors and up the stairs, through the well of the castle, another magical barrier to keep them safe, finding himself at the bottom of the west tower. He looked around himself, but he couldn't see her. A blond, attractive woman, right? That was what he was looking for, right? He rushed out in the courtyard.

And there she was, standing tall, making fun of the perfect cover the Agathodaemons had been keeping up for so long.

Wait, it was a hologram, right? And yet it looked so real, her eyes lit up when she saw him. It looked so real.

-Thank you for coming- she said, smiling.

-What do you want? - he replied, crossing his arms to his chest, protecting his heart. He wasn't sure of the extent of what that mage was capable of.

-Where is Lu? -

-What are you talking about? He is with you, right? - he said, frowning and bringing his hand to the gun.

-No, he is not. I will ask you one more time, where is he? -

-I have no idea. He left us suddenly, he went poof and disappeared. And how do you know me, or this place? -

-We know the base is here through Lu's nymph and I saw you in his mind when I infiltrated his memories. When and where did he disappear? -

-We found a place called Middle Hill. My friend and I couldn't follow him, so he went in on his own and didn't come back to us-

-Oh, my gods, oh my gods, I can't believe it- she said, lifting her arms up and down a couple of times.

-You are not going to fly away, stop flapping around- Danni replied, but Isamund didn't even hear him.

-Why on earth did you go there? -

-We were looking for the source of the fog-

-I am the source of the fog. Somebody needs to kill me to get the fog down-

-You are the source of the fog? - he asked, frowning, trying hard to keep his anger at bay.

-Yes, and if Pandora has manipulated his mind, he will come for me soon- she said, nodding.

-Slow down a minute. So, Lu figures out you are the cause of the fog, disappears instead of coming back to his friends and you say he is working to kill for our safety? - he said out loud. It didn't make any sense, and yet he could totally see Lu doing that to "protect" everybody. Stupid, stupid idiot.

But if she could connect to Lu's mind so well as to recognize Danni when she had never met him before, he needed to keep up his mental protections. He closed his eyes for a second, letting the shields fall.

-Well then, good luck to him. And good riddance, ops, well, respectfully your majesty- he replied, bowing.

-You don't understand. Pandora is the original Shadow, the first. The one he met in Middle Hill. She had been given the power of dominance on all the evils in the world. In the past we had sent these evils away, the Heroes created a land where people could be free. No monsters roaming around the land. Nothing to be scared about. They chased the darkness away. But her power has grown stronger than the powers of the spirits of the Heroes. She wants her creatures back, she wants her full powers back. That's why I created the fog, to keep the enemies of my people away, and she hates it. She has selected Lu as her champion to get what she wants-

-You created the fog to save your people and to get my people killed- he said, taking a step back. That woman. All those deaths. All that pain. It was all her. And for as much as he could see where she was coming from, he could understand that she was going to try her best to protect her country, he could not forgive all the people that had been lost due to that crazy strategy of hers.

-Just an unimportant consequence. It's true what the priests say, your powers, yours and those of all the creatures like you, weaken the Harmony of our country. Weaken our defences against the darkness, attracting them to us. But I would be ready to work with you guys, to find another way, if you stop Lu-

-You are saying that because you don't want to die. And why should I stop him from taking down the source of the fog as it is all I have wanted for years? - he said, crossing his arms to his chest. She was talking a lot of rubbish. How could he even be sure that she was not telling him a bunch of lies on purpose?

And yet why would she bother to come and talk to him?

-No, I am saying that because I don't want my people to die. And I don't want Lu to die. If Pandora has convinced him that I am responsible for all of this, you know better than most that if Lu does kill me, he will do the Last Resort, renouncing his humanity unable to cope with the feeling of having killed yet again, and he will not be human again-.

-What do you care about him? He is a Shadow, he is not one of your human people. Why don't you get him killed and finish this? - Danni hissed, tightening his shoulders. What she said was true, he could totally imagine that happening. And it made him worry.

-I love him- she replied, smiling wide.

-And you turned him into your weapon anyway. You love him and you made him do lots of stuff that he didn't want to do, but he did it anyway because he didn't have anything else- Danni replied, closing his fists with so much strength that his knuckles turned white. Love him. She certainly had a screwed-up version of what love was.

-Yes, I made my mistakes as well. I will make amends, but I know that I am strong enough to fix this, save Lu, save our country and your people. It doesn't have to be this way-

-Why don't you do it? Aren't you the all-powerful? - he asked, because there had to be something wrong.

-If my father gets even a feeling of what I have discovered, he will kill Lu-

And for a moment, Danni and Isamund understood each other. There is always another way.

-Will you help me or not? Will you stop Lu when the time comes? - she said. In the moonlight, her eyes shimmered.

-If I do help Lu, I will do it for him, not for you. Also, how can I be sure that you are not lying to me? -

-You can't-

And the hologram disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are enjoying this story so far! Do let me know what you think and any feedback is very appreciated :)


	11. A sudden clap of thunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The moment of truth.

Lu and Pandora were hiding in the forest when, suddenly, a van stopped, and soldiers move quickly out. Badiom was a big, abandoned property, one of those places that, if they had the money to maintain it, would have flocks of tourists creeping in, not crazy monsters. It had been a castle, designed with defence and grandeur in mind, with crenelated towers and even a portcullis for good measure. The inside had probably been splendid, if what Lu remembered from his history books was anything to go by. But the fireplaces had been nothing but ashes for long and, as far as they could see from the outside, there was nothing much left in the inside.

But the castle had one good advantage for them: it was not so big that they could not circle it from every direction, ready to intercept anybody trying to run away. It looked like a sanitary cordon, all the soldiers required for the mission all around, as Isamund herself stepped forward. Through Leerye they had figured out that there had to be some kind of magical barrier and that only magic could get rid of it.

Lu was near enough to see her moving her lips, but too far to understand what was going on, what she was saying.

Nothing happened for a minute or so, but, when she finally stopped mattering to herself, the loud noise of something cracking made them all fall silent. Right under their disbelieving eyes, a translucent dome appeared. It was covering the whole place, making it look like a snow globe if there had been any snow. A crack, right at the top, had appeared, and it was getting progressively larger and larger as Isamund had started to cast her spells again.

As suddenly as it had appeared, the dome was gone. Yes, she was the most incredible mage of all time.

-We are on the move ladies and gentlemen- Isamund's voice said as she stepped forward toward the entrance of the castle.

Lu shot one last glanced at Pandora, who simply moved her head in a nod of encouragement. And he rushed forward in the chaos.

The castle was empty. As they walked in the door, they were not faced with anybody. Had the Foreign Contaminants figured out they were coming?

Right there and then, the soldier next to him, weapon in hand, fell face forward on the ground, reached in the head by a very precise hit.

Lu just knew that it had to be Danni. He drew a deep breath in, as everybody fell silent.

-Come out peacefully, and we can settle this nicely- Isamund said, her voice magically louder, to the point that people in the next village over might have heard her.

-If you were coming for peace, then why did you come with so many soldiers? - definitely Danni. Had they sent him on his own? Was that coward captain hiding somewhere?

-Shall we call it insurance? Who are you to talk about cowardice when you are hiding in the shadows like rats? - Isamund replied, before quickly creating a protective shield around the soldiers closest to her when a shower of fire balls came down on them from one of the towers. Immediately a group of soldiers started running up the spiral stairs going up to the tower to the left of the entrance, and all Lu could hear was screams.

The battle had started. Out of nowhere, all sorts of creatures rushed forward: an Harpy grabbing a soldier by the shoulders and dragging him so high that he had no chance of survival when he was then let go; a few demons and vampires, rushing towards the soldiers throats but being sent back with silver bullets; Meg, who had rushed out from her hiding spot at the top of the tower and was now throwing fireballs to anybody, managing to miss a bullet direct right to her forehead by zapping herself away.

Where was Danni?

Lu was soon attacked too, limiting himself to dodge the bullets and the knifes.

Soon, he spotted the shadow monster. It had appeared out of the blue, so much sooner than Lu was expecting. There it was, right in the midst of the battle, completely unfazed by people rushing all around it. His dark body was impalpable, a soldier went through it without any damage. Without noticing the huge mouth opening on that faceless shape, showing two rows of sharp, elongated teeth.

-Do you reject your humanity? - it said in a thunderous voice, echoing in Lu's head. Too soon, he was not even close to what he wanted to do.

Lu didn't reply.

Where was Danni?

He was the sniper that had attacked the soldier, he was hiding somewhere. He needed to find him. His shadow needed to find him, as agreed.

And there he was, abandoning his advantage position on the top of tower on the far right and flying in the battlefield with eagle wings.

-Lu, I know what you want to do, but you don't have to do this- he said when he landed right in front of him after missing a fire ball from Meg that had been bounced off by a soldier.

Lu looked around him. His heart stopped when he spotted another shadow monster, five meters away from the first. And another one, much closer to the two of them, his mouth even bigger, with three rows of teeth, both up and down. More and more seemed to appear everywhere he looked. He wanted to scream.

He wanted to fly away to the Shadow world.

He looked at Danni, the other's face contracted in fear before he rushed forward, knife in hand.

-You don't have to do this. Pandora has lied to you. You don't need to do this- he heard him saying as he dodged his attack.

-Who told you that? Isamund? She even lied about Mary Sol needing me back to the base! - he screamed, punching hi, in the guts, the first real attack he landed since the battle had started.

-Ok, they are all lying to us. Let’s go away from here- Danni said, grabbing his wrist.

And, right in that moment, one more shadow monster appeared right next to Danni, still holding on to his wrist, still with wet eyes.

Gods, he was going to miss him.

-Please, come away with me. Please, we can hide away, you don't need to fear-

-No more hiding- Lu replied, using the back of his gun to hit Danni again in the stomach, making his fly away. Blood trickling down from his mouth.

-Do you reject your humanity? - the shadow monster said, so close to his face that Lu could feel its filthy breath all over his face and the wetness of its tongue touching his cheek.

-Yes, I do- Lu replied, for the first time, charging forward, knife in hand.

Damn. Danni couldn't see Lu anymore or anything else, really. He could only feel the ferruginous taste of blood in his mouth. Complete darkness had fallen on his eyes. He should have stayed put, as he had promised, as he was been instructed by the captain. He could have found another way to convince Lu to back off from his plan, but, when he had spotted him on the battle field, just defending himself and not attacking anybody, he had lost all logic and he had gone in, like a complete idiot. And where the fuck was he now? Stuck in the dark forever. He looked around, but nothing. No movement. And yet he could hear the sounds of the battle around him. He was still on the battlefield. People were screaming, people were falling and moaning in pain. And he was in the darkness. What had that stupid Shadow done to him?

-Don't worry, Lu has not done anything to you. I am protecting you. I'm Lu's shadow-

-What? - what the hell did it mean? All around himself a strange dark bubble had appeared, but, slowly, it turned transparent enough so he could finally see what was going on around him.

-I am under instruction to protect you no matter what- it was disconcerting how that voice was exactly like Lu's, the same inflections, the same rolling of his Rs, and yet, for as much as Danni would have wanted it to be, it was not his. It was completely emotionless.

-Protect me from what? - Danni asked, a tight knot forming in the pit of his stomach.

And, right in front of his eyes, Lu's plan unfolded. Quick, almost too quick to see what was happening: Lu created a shadow blade, so sharp it almost shined in the light of day, and stabbed Isamund right in the back. She fell forward, still breathing, as Lu's ex-companions, seeing what happened, rushed forward and started beating him up.

-STOP! - Danni screamed, beating his punch to the bubble that didn't budge.

Lu was motionless, didn't try to defend himself as the soldier kicked him with their feet and with the back of their guns.

-Do something, they are going to kill him! - Danni screamed at the entity all around him.

But no answer came.

Till both Lu and Isamund were dead on the castle ground.

For a moment, everything was still. For a single moment everything around Danni started to move in slow motion in perfect silence. Perfect harmony.

And then an explosion, the strongest he had ever felt, boomed right there in the middle of the castle, killing everything in its vicinity, destroying the walls and the towers that had survived for so long. The pillars fell, crumbling down as if they were made of butter. Even the shadowy bubble around him got blown back, flying up high in the sky, so high that he could see down to the coast. Down to Kohan. Down where everything had started.

It was there, right in that very moment, that Danni saw what he had hoped for. What he had been chasing for so long: the damn fog that had stopped him from finally going back home, dissipated. The horizon appeared once again.

And a dark sound of thunder rumbled all around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> In the next chapters we will follow Danni through the aftermath of the battle. 
> 
> And see if he can restore Lu.


	12. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danni glides back on the battlefield

Lu's shadow gently glided down on the battlefield and, the moment it touched the ground, it disappeared like a soap bubble. And Danni wished it hadn't. The spectacle in front of him was apocalyptic. There were body parts and blood everywhere. The ancient walls of the castle were covered in the stuff. The smell was absolutely revolting and, when he couldn't take it any longer, he bent over and vomit everything that was left inside him. The coughing wrecked him, making him fall over. When he finally started to breathe again, he looked again around, tears in his eyes. He was alone, the only living thing in the vicinity. How far had the explosion gone? How many people were dead? And that thunder, the rumbling in the distance was intensifying, getting louder and louder.

A suddenly thought in his distraught mind: Lu's body. Where was it? Were his limbs gone all over the place? Whose blood was he standing on?

His heart was about to jump out of his mouth. No, he couldn't cope with this. He had seen it falling on the floor, he had seen the life spilling out of it, and it wasn't there anymore. It wasn't there, it wasn't there.

And Meg? What had happened to her?

Why was he alone again? Why did this continue to happen to him? He brought his hands to his hair, pulling as hard as he could, but the pain was not bringing any solace.

And his body shook again. He sat on his heels, looking at his hands and at how they were turning inward toward the palms, looking more and more like claws.

No, please not this as well.

-Get a grip- a male voice said. With a pounding heart, Danni looked around himself again, scared.

He found Captain Mallory, standing in defiance.

And anger, livid anger rippled through him like it never had before. With Lu's last moments firmly in is mind, Danni fused his fingers into one, sharp object and rushed forward, aiming for the Captain's head.

But he moved quickly to avoid it. Danni was relentless, kept on going, but Thomas was far too fast for him, and, when a strong cramp took hold of Danni's leg, he slipped and fell with his back on the ground, the pain of the fall knocking the wind out of his lungs. He couldn't move.

-See, you got a grip, we need to move- Thomas said, hovering over him.

-Where were you? - Danni said as tears streamed down his face, choking him.

-What? Speak up idiot-

-Where were you? You sent us all out, we believed in you and you were gone. You didn't help us. I told you that he was going to kill himself and you didn't help-

Saying out loud that Lu was dead made his muscle contract around the hole in his stomach. The pain was so physical.

-You all sacrificed yourselves so that the most vulnerable of the community could escape, the old and the children are all safe- Thomas said, voice stern, stating the facts without any sort of emotion.

Danni moved to his side and curled around himself.

-I want to be dead too-

-And make his sacrifice useless? He is still here you know. -

-What? - Danni said, reopening the same eyes that he had hoped, for a moment, never to open again.

-The Last Resort is a way to get rid of a Shadow's humanity. Once performed, the Shadow is just that, a shadow. He is still here, hiding away in the dark. He can hear you and see you, I am sure of it-.

Danni took a deep breath. And then another. He was done listening to other people and believe their crap.

-How do you know? And who are you, anyway? - he had never said the reason why he went into hiding when the laws against the Foreign Contaminants came into action.

-I am a necromancer, I can evoke the spirit of the dead. And protect people's body when they pass- He said, moving suddenly his left arm perpendicularly to his body, indicating far away from him.

-What? -

-Before the explosion, I protected his body, hiding it in the base of the tower-

Danni's breath halted in his throat. Was he there? Could he pay his last respects? He wanted to move and check what had happened, make sure that Lu had not turned into a mincemeat. And yet he couldn't.

-Why? Why him? -

-Because all the others were going to die anyway, there is no way to bring humans back to life, but a Shadow, I think it can be done- Thomas said, crossing his arms to his chest.

-I saw John Luce trying that, it can't...- Danni was about to say, but a sudden thought flushed him with an unexpected wave of hope. The crazy priest had tried to reunite a Shadow with a body that wasn't her own. But maybe, if they had the right body...

-Did you hear? You stupid jerk, come back, there might be a way to patch this mess up- he said out loud, looking straight at Thomas, looking for some sort of comfort that wasn't going to come.

-And when you are back in your body, I will punch you right in the face, because really, what the hell? - and it was going to feel good.

Nothing. Nothing happened. Had he left already? Panic started to settle in again. For all he knew Lu could have left, abandoning the place and how on earth was he going to find him again, hidden away somewhere in the shadows? Did the Captain's powers stretch to that much?

-He is here, but he won't come out- it was Lu's voice, and yet it wasn't. His sentient shadow appeared, standing upright, the perfect and intangible shape of a man that was not. Danni clutched his fists, trying to keep his power in check. He felt his skin crawl and itch.

-Why not? -

-He is not telling me, and I don't really care-

-Why are you still here then? Go- Danni barked back. That thing had saved his life, but he wasn't Lu.

-Because he doesn't have anywhere to go- Thomas said. The Shadow didn't reply.

-You are free now, rush away in secret, you can do what you want, nobody is touching you- Danni replied, waving his hand away. He wanted him gone.

-You might want to reconsider that- the shadow replied, again barely any emotion in his voice. How did Lu deal with this irritating creature for long? It should be glad it didn't have a body, otherwise Danni would have punched him right in the face.

-And why is that? - Danni said, his whole-body stiffening.

-Because I'm the only one that can do this-.

Suddenly the Shadow lifted its hand and threw a fire ball at another Shadow he hadn't even noticed. Right before impact, Danni saw the monstrous mouth, much larger than a normal, human mouth, with rows and rows of sharp teeth.

-There will be others. The barriers between the shadow world and reality has been torn, we need to find a safe space- the shadow said, and it sounded like that was the last of it, nothing else to be added.

-What about Lu's body? - Danni said, as Thomas moved forward following that stubborn shadow, still walking vertically instead of shuffling horizontally on the ground.

-Don't worry about it, it's protected, nobody is going to lay a finger on him- Thomas replied, not turning around.

Danni hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to leave it like that, he wanted to see it now more than ever.

-If you are listening, this is a very crap situation and you'll need to work hard to make me forgive you- he whispered.

Coming out of the castle, Danni looked around himself and his heart sunk: he remembered the area around the castle, full of trees, bushes, squirrels and deer going all over the place. Now the oak trees were all charred, burnt to a crisp. The burnt smell was a little better than the smell of blood in the castle, but it still was unpleasant, and Danni could hardly stop himself from coughing.

What was the plan? In amongst the coughing, he realised that they were exposed, far more than he liked. If there were monsters coming after them, they needed to find a place to regroup.

Both Thomas and he suddenly stopped on their tracks. It has started to rain. Firstly little, tiny drops, almost as if the clouds were scared to break through for the first time since the fog came. And then, when they had gathered all their courage, it started to fall like nothing else, making it almost impossible to see where they were going. It had not rained for so long.

-Where is your car? - Thomas said

-I have no idea-

-You must have parked it somewhere-

-You can't seriously think that it would still be all in one piece? It's probably a melted ruin now- he said. In all that chaos, he did feel a small pang of sadness for that car. It had served them all too well.

-Concentrate, where is the car? - Thomas insisted, grabbing his left shoulder and squeezing hard.

Danni gave him the angriest look he could, but he tried to recollect his memory. And let his body take charge. He couldn't believe his own eyes when he did remember where the car was. And it was all in one piece! No scratch, no blood, nothing. There were still the damages from their escape from the demons, but besides that it was all new.

-How? What? - they were surely still in the perimeter of the explosion.

-The car has a self-preservation charm I bought a while ago from a witch before it became illegal-

-Why Captain, I didn't know you cared! - Danni said, feeling like a laugh was coming up, but he was too tired and drained to even consider it.

-I couldn't risk our only way to get food in- he replied.

-But it worked, come on-.

They jumped in, the shadow in the back.

-Where to? - Danni said.

-Shall we go to where the kids and the old are? They'll need you- he added, when Thomas didn't say a thing, simply looking out of the window.

-No, they are as safe as it gets now, our presence there would only make it worse-

-Where then? What are we doing? -

-I'm sorry to interrupt your lovely exchanges, but you might want to start driving though, more shadow monsters are coming- the shadow said, sounding almost bored.

-You know, you really are irritating Shadowman- Danni said, starting the car off.

-I thought that was Lu-

-Yes, it was Lu and you are not him- he said, quickly starting the car. To hell with the advice "don't drive when you are upset".

-You will need another name. Greg, Fred, Art-

-Nope, nope- the shadow said, relentless.

-Tristram, Jacob, come on, you gotta help me here brother- Danni replied, before slowing down almost to a stop. Right above them, there was a dragon, like the one he had seen the night Lu had shared his power with him. It looked so beautiful, glistening of self-produced light as it enjoyed the raindrops falling on him, twisting his long body around.

-Tell me again, what did the minister tell you? - Thomas interjected, bringing the conversation back to a more serious level.

-She said that a Shadow called Pandora made Lu believe that he needed to kill Isamund to get rid of the fog. She said this Pandora lady was trying to get the evil powers she had lost through the actions of the Heroes-

-Pandora as in that Pandora? The one with the vase containing all evils. - Thomas asked, turning to him. Danni kept his eyes stubbornly on the road, but he felt Thomas' gaze burning his skin.

-What vase, what? -

-Have you lived under a rock? The first heroes to arrive here had to face a world full of evils, monsters like the one we saw earlier probably, all sorts of diseases and pain and-

-Is that what Lu invited in? The apocalypse? - Danni said.

And he had done it to give him the choice to go home. Danni felt like puking again.

-Quite possibly-

-Well, how do we stop it? -

-I have no idea-

-What? What do you mean you have no idea? - he almost screamed. No, no, no, he refused to believe that. There had to be a way, right?

-The stories don't specify how it happened, how the heroes sent all the evil away. It only said something about the power of light and love-

-Bullshit, they must have had something, some weapon or...- Danni was cut off when Thomas took the wheel and made the car turn to an extremely sharp right, making them almost bump into a tree.

A cyclops. A frigging cyclops was walking around, stumping on everything and everyone. He was incredibly tall, the tallest thing Danni had ever seen, taller than some of the building in the capital, certainly taller than Waterloo Central Station. His body was humanoid, legs and arms in the right place, even the private parts were dangling where they were meant to. But what he was worried about was the massive eye in the middle of his face.

-Drive for all the Gods's sake! - Thomas shouted, bringing him back to earth. Danni started the car again, accelerating as much as possible to get away from the giant. But Danni saw through the side mirror that the monster had stopped to pick up the car he had just smashed with his foot and dragged the mangled bodies of the poor sods in it right to his mouth.

-Where are we going? You need to give me a hand here- Danni said, gripping the wheel and grinding his teeth. He could feel his whole back covered in cold shivers.

-Go to the coast. Kohan. They'll need help the most, they are the closest to the rest of the world. They won't only have to face the darkness coming out of the shadows-.

Kohan. Why did everything always bring him back there?


	13. I thought you were dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fog is down and all the evils of the world are roaming free. 
> 
> Danni, Thomas and Lu's shadow need to find a solution. 
> 
> Could a journey to the underworld be the answer?

It had to be some kind of joke. Or if not a joke some kind of horrible nightmare. He closed his eyes and opened them up again. No, he was still driving with Thomas Mallory, who had gone completely silent since the run in with the cyclops, and a nameless shadow. He wasn't sure as to where he was finding the strength and the necessary concentration, but Danni managed to by-pass a few more shadow monsters that had run away from a farm they had raided, leaving some horses and human corpses behind. He spotted in the sky also some of the creatures he had seen with Lu, the same glittery birds and the nymphs. Why couldn't it be just them? Why did they have to be plagued by the human eating monsters?

-How about Anthony? - he said, looking at the shadow through the central mirror. With the darkness of the evening, he could barely see him, but he was there.

And he needed to give him a name. Any name but Lu.

-Keep trying-

-Something more mythological? Like Thor or something? -

-I'm not an Avenger- the shadow replied, with a petulant tone.

-How do you know about the Avengers? -

-I was Lu's shadow, what he knew I knew-

Damn. He is not Lu, don't listen to it, he thought. And yet, with that simple little sentence, that stupid shadow had pierced right through his chest. 

-Do you know where he is now? Has he finally decided to talk? - Danni said, gripping the steering wheel. 

Stupid, stupid Lu. 

-He is here, and no, he doesn't want to talk-

-What an idiot. You hear me, you are an idiot- Danni said, shaking his head and barely avoiding a lamp post.

-He can hear you loud and clear, no need to shout-

-Where is he? - Danni asked. 

He used to know exactly where Lu was. This new reality was unsettling and he was too tired to deal with the frozen feeling in the pit of his stomach. 

-I am not allowed to say-

-Why not? - he asked again. 

Gods, he needed to punch someone. 

-He asked me not to. And you might not believe this, but I like him more than I like you, for now-

-Enough- Thomas intervened.

-Sorry- Danni replied automatically, an old response to an old order or hierarchy, but he wasn't sorry. Lu was there, somewhere. He knew he had to look at the road ahead, but he was far too curious. There were so many dark spots in there, where was he hiding?

-You used to live in Kohan, didn't you? - Thomas asked.

-Yes, right before I heard about you guys and decided to leave my comfy gig to come and join you. I should have never done that- he said, not knowing anymore what he was talking about. He was so tired, everything was aching and, consequently, his already loose command on his mouth was gone.

-Not a good time to cry over spilled milk. Do you have a safe house when we get there? Someone who can help? -

-I hope so- Danni replied, swallowing.

There they were, Kohan. Danni parked where they did last time and rushed everyone out.

-Would you mind going back to be horizontal? You might not want to attract attention- Danni said to the shadow as they were rushing to Frank's place. He was going to get a heart attack, seeing them back again like that. That suddenly made him scared. Last time they saw him they were going to attack John Luce. Had the army gone to question him?   
Did they find any traces of their presence there?

-I don't think that my presence will make any difference to these people- he said.

And he was dead right. That same road that had been so quiet, so desolate the night of their first arrival, was now full of people. 

People screaming at each other. 

People punching each other mercilessly in the middle of the road. 

Sirens were blaring away in the distance.

It was chaos.

Thomas took a gun out and shot three times up in the air, the blast piercing through the noise. Somehow, that scared everyone off, and they watched the zombies scramble away to safety.

-Do you still have your gun? -he said to Danni, with a deadly serious look on his face.

-No, I lost it when mister no name here took me away- he knew that he had to get a grip and treat the shadow more nicely. 

And yet he couldn't stop himself. He needed someone to blame.

-We will need to find another one for you. Come on, let's get away before they come back-

-What happened to them? - those people, normal human beings that were meant to enjoy their time, maybe start to prepare dinner at that time of the evening, seemed completely out of their mind, their eyes blown wide, displaying their teeth as if they were feral animals.

-Remember all the evil in the world part of the story? I presume that this is Madness, or some evil magic making everybody lose their marbles- he replied.

-Wait what else is in that stupid vase? -

And then he had an idea. The fog was down. Could he maybe get back on the internet properly? Not like that stupid wannabe stuff they put up when everything fell?

He took his phone out of his pocket. Meg had mocked him mercilessly for thinking of bringing that piece of junk with him on the battlefield, but he had felt he needed to have it with him. And now he was so glad he had. It still had a little bit of battery left. No, he couldn't get on Google to check this actual crazy myth that was turning to be a reality, but, against all odds, he saw that there were three miscalls from an unknown number.

With his heart pounding like crazy, hope growing in his mind beyond all odds, he rang the number back:

-Hello? - a female voice said. It was a darker, more mature voice that he remembered, it didn't have any hints of the teenager insecurities she had had when he was still living with them at home, but it was her, Vera.

-Vera? Is that you? - he said. He knew it was her, it couldn't be anyone else. But he needed to hear it from her, he needed to hear a friendly voice as he was standing in a nameless road in Kohan, with the rain slapping his face and the possibility of crazy people coming back any minute.

-Oh, my Gods, is that you? Danni? -she sounded as dumbstruck as he was.

-Yes, yes, it's me, how are you? - he said, smiling wide.

-How am I? I thought you were dead! The news is reporting the fog disappearing finally, I thought of giving it a shot, I didn't think it was actually going to work and- she said and continued talking and talking, while Danni's eyes were burning. She was just the same, her enthusiasm and verbal diarrhoea combo was irresistible and at times incredibly irritating. But it filled him up with a strange, warm feeling.

-Vera, how are -

A gun shot right at his hand made the phone fall on the floor and blood splatter all over his face. Danni growled, as the bent on himself. Another gunshot had followed quickly after the first, Thomas shooting down the attacker who fell on the wet ground.

-We waited too long for your chitchats, come on- he said, urging Danni along as others were coming, he could hear them over the buzz in his ears due to the pain in his hand.

-What are these people? Crazy ass zombies? -

-I don't know and I don't care, where are we going? - Thomas replied, as the shadow threw a couple of firebombs to other two humans that had appeared in the distance.

-Here- he said.

The phone was long gone, all in pieces. But he still knew Vera's number by heart.

They knocked and knocked on Frank's door. Danni's vision was starting to get blurry as the blood was keeping on dripping down.

-Are you sure this is the place? - Thomas said, slamming his fist again on the door.

-If you excuse me- the shadow said, putting his hand on Thomas’. The captain, immediately, jerked away, recoiling.

-Jeez, I am not infective, just so you know- he replied, before disappearing in the door itself, just like a ghost.

The door opened wide, revealing Frank, sitting right on the couch, with a rifle in his hands.

-Where did you get one of those? -Danni said, letting himself fall on the couch.

-Where did you get your hand smashed up like that? - Frank shook his head and then he said:

-More importantly, why are you here? What did you do? -

-Why do you think it's me? It's not always me making a mess you know? - he replied, sitting on the couch, the pain finally catching up with him.

A strange, grey shadow fell over his eyes, and a sweet feeling of unconsciousness fell over his body.

He opened his eyes in a familiar place. He remembered the place, he was in the kitchen of his house as a child, the nice one, the one before everything fell apart. It was a clean, comfortable space, with smooth lines of several different appliances kept clean by Anne, their cleaning lady. A colourful tablecloth decorated the table, with a basket of seasonal fruit because his mother and himself as well liked to nibble on them every time they stepped in the kitchen. His mum and his sister were messing around on the stove, with Vera screeching about wanting to learn how to bake cookies. His dad sat on one of the comfy chairs with the grey cushioning, his glasses slightly down on his strong nose as he was reading the newspaper.

His dad looked young. Vera was just a child and his mum's hair didn't have a shade of grey. He was in a memory, he was consciously walking in a pleasant memory, not something that his pain dazed brain would have been able to do.

-Lu, I know that's you- Danni said, looking around. The room was very well lit. Was he hiding under the table? Could he squish himself in the short shadows of the pots and pans?

-Did you say something son? - his father asked, lowering his newspaper to turn and look at Danni with a smile, like he cared. How old was this memory?

Suddenly he heard a noise, like something smashing on the floor in the bathroom. Nobody else in the room reacted. Nobody seemed to hear it.

-Excuse me for a moment- he said, rushing upstairs.

But he wasn't there. He was half expecting to see something like the shadow in the car, standing upright but impossible to touch. There was though what used to be his mother perfume bottle smashed on the floor, which couldn't be right, his mum used to love that stuff and was always careful to keep on away from danger.

-You could have used a better way to bring me here that wasting an expensive perfume- he said, shaking his head, bracing for whatever was coming next.

Suddenly, the bathroom mirror fogged, as if someone had just had the hottest shower on the planet, and, under Danni's disbelieving eyes, letters began to form.

-It's a memory, I can't change it, it will get back to the way it was-

-Shall I remember this when I wake up? - Danni asked, his heart pounding. He was talking to him, to the man that he thought he had lost forever. He had to admit that it was a small solace.

The fog on the mirror reappeared, erasing the previous sentence, letting Lu write new letters, slowly and carefully, as if he actually didn't want to admit it.

-Yes, you will-

-Why did you not talk to me before? Why the hiding? - despite all his attempts to stay calm, Danni felt rage starting to kick in.

-I wouldn't be talking to you now if you hadn't been so stupid to get hurt so bad- Lu wrote extremely quickly, his handwriting going all over the place.

-You have the lowest level of self-preservation I have ever seen-

-Says the one that went and got himself killed- Danni replied, folding both his hands under his armpits. God, he wanted to punch that mirror, hoping to hurt Lu in the process.

-I will be out of your head soon, just the time for the shadows to fix your hand-

-What? That's exactly the opposite of what I want you to do-

No answer.

-I want you with me. I want you back to where you were. I don't know what Pandora has told you, how she made you do what you did, but I want you back, I want to fly together on the dragons' backs, I want you to keep your stupid promise-

-I am sorry. I really am, I won't be able to anymore-

-Did you not hear what captain Mallory said? We might be able to reverse the Last Resort. Your body is safe and... -

-Do you want the idiot that brought the apocalypse on this land to be back? -

-Yes, I want that idiot back. And I want him to listen to me-

-I killed Isamund because I was too eager to believe someone that looked like me. Someone who sold me a lie for her own purpose-

-I still want you back. I will do everything I can to get that your stupid shadow back in your body- Danni said, not hiding the resolution in his voice. With his eyes closed he could still feel Lu's lips on his.

-No, you don't have the time for that. You need to stop the evil spirits from killing everyone in this land. Madness has already taken hold of this town, you saw what happened. Sickness is coming too, and Violence. Countless others-

-How do I do that? On my own I don't have the...-

-You will need to find the heroes and their spring of power before Pandora and the spirits do it, you will need to travel to the underworld, speak with them directly-

-The heroes are dead- Danni said feeling lost. What was he talking about? Travelling to the underworld? Was he mad? Also, even if he could travel there, how could he finish the job?

-And even if they weren't, why would they want to talk to me, a monster? -

-They were foreigners themselves, weren't they? - Lu wrote, quickly. Danni could imagine him smiling at him, encouragingly. He had never thought about it, but yes, it was true, the Heroes themselves had arrived in that land from abroad, maybe even from where Danni came from.

-You'll need to find a way, find how they got rid of the enemy. Save this place-

-I'll try- Danni nodded, not knowing where he was going to start.

-I'll ask only one thing of you though. Can you please show yourself? -

-No-

-Why not? -

-In this way you'll remember me as a human. If I show myself as...-

-Stop trying to protect me, please, I need to see you, I need to know that I am not going mad, talking to a mirror-.

The fog on the mirror disappeared as quickly as it had come. Danni's eyes roamed around the place, hoping to see him coming.

And, in the blink of an eye, Lu appeared. He was, for all intense and purposes, identical to the nameless shadow, the same featureless humanoid shape with legs and arms.

-Is that really you? - Danni asked, squeezing his eyes.

-Yes- Lu said, sadness filling his voice.

Danni stretched his hands towards Lu's face, but the Shadow took a step back.

-I love you- Danni said, without stopping himself. The words came out like a flood, strong and fearless. Yes, he was in love with a shadow, with someone who died right in front of his eyes. But he was going to bring him back even if that was the last thing he was going to do.

Suddenly, he felt a strong force taking hold of his body and dragging him away from Lu.

He woke up gasping for air. He was lying in his bed in Frank's house, the surroundings immediately familiar to him. He brought his good hand to his forehead which was covered in sweat. He lifted the other one, looking at it.

There was no serious damage, just a few visible lines of stitches that were stretching his hand.

-You are lucky to have such a devout supporter- Thomas said, putting back on the table the cup of tea he was drinking.

-Before we could even try to fix your hand, he was already on it-

Danni let himself fall back on the pillow. He hadn't dreamt of it.

-Did you talk to him? - Thomas continued. Danni turned his head so that he could look at him.

-Yes, he talked to me-

-Did he say anything useful? -

-He said I need to travel to the underworld and find the Heroes, ask them how they stopped her and her monsters- Danni said, shaking his head. It sounded even more crazy when he said it like that.

-Ok, that can be done-

-Et Tu? You are the one who told me to get a grip and not kill myself- Danni said, jumping up to seat, but his head spinner too much and he fell again.

-You will not need to do it. You forgot I am a necromancer, right? - Thomas said, raising his eyebrows.

-Now I understand why you kept it secret for so long-term- Danni replied, a tired smile appearing on his face.

-What are you talking about? -

\- This "necromancer" title does sound awful-

-Never mind. You can't go in the underworld with your body, but you can go there with your spirit. I will teach you how to make an astral projection-

-A what? - Danni asked, a pinch of worries in his voice. That didn't sound restful.

-An astral projection. You will project your soul out of your body without making it die. You will be able to go back into it whenever you want. Only small problem-

-What, what small problem? -

-If we do manage to get your soul to travel there, there might be things ready to kill you. And if you die there, you will die in the real world as well-

-Wait, wait, slow down- Danni said, lifting himself up again, this time a little slower.

-Why don't you go? You deal with dead people, right? - that made perfect sense. And he would not have to deal with monsters with a taste for humans.

-That's exactly why. They granted me the powers to work with them, but if I were to step into their land, I would lose them all-

-Oh great, can't we find someone else? -

-What, do you want to send the big potato head? -

-That's must be others that can deal with this. Better fighters-

-We lost our better fighters the other day-

-The other day? How long have I been asleep? - Danni asked, looking straight at Thomas.

-Only one day, don't panic. Your shadowy friend has kept hold of you quite strongly and made the healing process quite fast-

-Lu, or the other one? -

-His name is Conrad-

-You named him without me? -

-He sort of named himself. He went through a list of baby names with Frank, they seem to like one another a lot- Thomas said, standing up and making for the exit, stopping suddenly on his tracks.

-Mark my words because I am not going to say them again. You are actually a very good fighter. If our last hope lies in you, we are lucky-.

And he stepped out of the room, leaving Danni to fall back on the bed, his brain spinning around.

-Will you be with me if I do this thing? Can you come to the underworld with me? -

No answer came.

-Can't blame you, it is not great as a first date idea is it? -.

Danni managed to drag himself out of the bedroom. It took him longer that he had expected as his body felt sluggish and his head was spinning as he went down the stairs.

He found Frank alone in the kitchen, making tea. It had been such a daily part of his life, Frank making tea in the kitchen. Probably the fondest memory he had of him, besides the whole hosting him when he was having a panic attack at the harbour. So many things had changed, and yet he was still there, with a kettle and his tea.

-Where are the others? -

-They have gone out, there were reports of fights breaking in the main square-

-And they didn't wait for me? -

-No, I presume they want you to rest before something more serious happens. Although I really wished you could stay behind- Frank said, sitting down in front of him but not looking at him. His hands were wrapped around his mug, and yet still seemed to fidget.

-You know I need to fight- Danni replied. In his mind he was contemplating the idea. Staying in. That little kitchen, safe for the time being, drinking tea and eating cookies. But, even in that pretend scenario he could see himself fidgeting, moving around on his seat.

-I know- Frank replied, with a sigh.

-What is the latest news? - he said. If he had slept for a day, loads had probably changed.

-You are not going to believe this, but the special Containment Forces have been dismantled and are now working together with the regular army and, guess what, willing foreign contaminants, to fight back. There are reports of strange diseases out-breaking in the north of the country, Orte is now under siege by a group of hungry Cyclops, shadow monsters are appearing all over the place. And people, like here, are losing their minds and attacking one another. So, peachy really- Frank had said all of that without taking one single breath. Danni studied his face for a while. His lips' slight tremor was a good indication that he was scared and barely holding on.

-Has Pandora come out yet? -

-Pandora? -

-The person, the Shadow behind all of this- he replied, feeling his stomach fill with bile at the thought. Frank didn't interrupt as Danni explained everything as far as he could.

-So, the myth is true. Well, I don't know if it can help, but do you know how she got all the evil spirits out in the first place? -

Danni only shook his head. Were they heading toward some kind of new revelation? He wasn't sure he could take any more.

-She didn't follow orders and opened a vase she was not supposed to open. All the evil stuff came out, but something stayed behind, Hope-

-Hope? - he repeated, arching an eyebrow. Was he going to fight all evils with Hope?

-Hope, yes. I know what you are thinking, is probably stupid, but maybe this hope thing might help-

Danni laughed out loud before saying:

-Well, I sincerely hope so? -.

Thomas and Conrad came back. The necromancer was a bit battered and bruised, but nothing too incredibly serious, and Conrad looked very smug as he sat down on the couch.

-Well, you humans are easy to freak out-

-What happened? -

-I was handling things, getting people away, when mister here decided to get all the shadows of these crazed people and get them wrap around their bodies' heads-Thomas replied, letting himself fall on the couch too. He did look tired.

-Well, wasn't I successful? - Conrad replied.

-Wait a minute, how are we not affected by this crazy flu going around? - Danni said, suddenly worried. Did he have to start watching his back? Did the others need to start watching their backs in case he went nuts?

-I can't be affected by something like this. I am not affected by spells on the mind. One of the side effects of my connection with the dead-

-Do you see dead people? -

-If you are asking me if I am related to the Sixth sense kid, no, I am not. You probably are not affected by it because of your power too, the fact that you can change your body when you want might make your basic shape immune. Or maybe is Lu again-.

Danni lowered his gaze for a moment before asking:

-What about Frank? -

-That's me I think, I put shadow essence in your tea- Conrad replied. Frank spit out his tea, coughing.

-You might want to finish drinking it, unless you want to become another mindless creature- Conrad laughed. Danni suddenly envied him. So free, he couldn't basically be killed or suffer or anything like that. He could go everywhere, he could go and fly with the dragons if he wished to do that.

But he had chosen to stay with them. A bunch of losers in a crazy world. Well, who was he to judge?

They all went to sleep after that, or at least pretend to.

He woke up early, the sun was barely up itself as he went downstairs.

-What is going on? -

He stepped in the kitchen where everyone was listening to the ancient radio that was still on the table.

-The first...- crackle, crackle -The first ship to arrive in the harbour of Kohan is approaching-

The first ship. Gods, the rest of the world had worked very quickly.

-We need to go- Thomas said, grabbing him by the shoulder and turning him on his heels.

-Where are we going? -

-To the harbour. They will need all the help they can get-

Out of the door, the smell of the sea intoxicated him as they ran down. He closed his eyes for a second, suppressing the strong feeling of dejavu he was having. They were soon clear of the old houses and out in the harbour, that had been empty for so long. The big buildings where they used to keep storage and the visitors' facilities were falling apart. But there it was, a ship, right against the horizon. And right there, almost in the water, he could see a crowd of people.

-Well-wishers ?- he asked, and, right on cue, a shadow monster appeared in their midst. They were both close enough for them to see it closing its jaws on a person's arm and cutting it off.

Violence started again, the crowds screaming as more blood was shed.

-Isn't beautiful?- a voice said behind them. They turned around to face a beautiful woman, with flowing dark hair falling in waves around her elegant features, all of them, from her nose to her eyes, soft and gentle. Until she smiled.

-Complete chaos-

-Who are you? - Danni barked.That woman was not a woman at all. Her presence alone was making his own skin tingle with power.

-Shush- Thomas said, putting an arm right in front of him.

-You are a Chaos- He said in a whisper. Danni had never seen him being that scared in his whole life.

-No, I'm Violence, but close enough. You can't necessarily have the one without the other-

-What do you want?- Danni hissed.

-Your sister is on that boat- she said.

-Vera? No, Vera is at home- he muttered to himself. She was safe at home, right?

But she was his sister. The sister he hadn't seen in three years. And he knew that, after their phone conversation, she would have gone out first thing to find passage on the first ship. He would have done the same.

-Shit- he swore before sprinting off, gun in hand. Thomas followed him, no questions asked.

He didn't want to shoot. He didn't want to kill, but there were so many bodies, so many zombie-like creatures blocking the road towards the belly of the ship that he didn't have any alternatives. Bodies were falling, the strong smell of blood overpowering the one of the sea. Flashes of the dismembered bodies after the explosion came back to his mind, as vivid as reality.

-Vera- He screamed, but he couldn't see her as he was fighting off some of the humans still attacking them. Why were they not getting scared? They had left them in peace before at the sound of the guns.

-Vera- He shouted again.

Suddenly he felt a warm something right behind his back

-I am here- she said. Her voice again, just like in the phone.

-What is going on?-

-Too long to explain. How do you have a gun?- Danni shouted.

-Too long to explain. How do we get out of here?- she replied, shooting at someone.

-Why do I always have to do everything?- Conrad's bored voice made them both jump.

He used the same trick he must had used when fighting with Thomas. The shadows of their opponents raised up like a wall and wrapped themselves around then, making them fall on the ground, whining. Danni didn't waste any time, grabbed Vera's hand and rushed forward, going as fast as he could towards Frank's house.

Once the door slammed behind them, Danni bent forward, trying to breathe normally. And trying to keep himself from facing Vera, who was doing the same, breathing as deeply as she could. Was she nervous too?

Come on, get a grip. He told himself.

-So, welcome to crazy land- he said, finally standing up.

She laughed and, without adding anything, she closed the distance between them and hugged him tight. Danni was taken aback for a moment, almost not used to her hugs anymore, but then he wrapped himself around her too.

-I thought you were dead. Mum was keeping on going, convinced that, sooner or later, we were going to see you again. She insisted on keeping your room the same. I told her she was nuts but-

-How is she?- he said, bracing himself. It was not going to be good.

-Don't ever tell her this, but she is doing so much better now that dad is dead. She never forgave herself for not protecting you more from him. She is also not forgiving herself for obviously being much more joyful now, but I told her not to fret and-

-How did he die?- Danni said, hugging himself. He thought it was going to be the case. He had imagined it a million time, but hearing it out load like that was so strange. He almost couldn't believe it. She was joking, right? Dad was fine, back home at the table reading his newspaper, like in the memory Lu had managed to find the gods only knew were.

-He took far too many of mum's sleeping pills. They ended up smashing his liver- she replied, her enthusiasm finally leaving some space for pain. He could see it in her squinting eyes and her lips, suddenly immobile.

-Nice to meet you Vera- Frank intervened, stepping in between the two brothers. Danni looked at her sister as a bright smile appeared on her face while she was shaking Frank's overstretched hand.

-Nice to meet you. Who are you?- she said, tugging a free strand of hair behind her right ear.

-You might need a moment to catch up. I am Thomas Mallory by the way- the Captain said, putting a hand on her shoulder and leading her to the small kitchen, far too small for all of them, but, somehow, they fitted. And no, it didn't take a moment. It took forever. Thomas did most of the talking as she was listening to that tirade very carefully, nodding and smiling at the right time. Had she always been the good girl listening attentively, paying attention? He studied her in silence. Even after the battle her nice, brown curls were falling down on her shoulders in a nice, soft way, as if she had never ever been near a fight. Were her cheekbones always that high? She had such an elegant profile that he would have doubted her being his sister if he didn't have clear memories of their childhood together.

-What's up with the tattoo on your neck? - Danni suddenly said, interrupting Conrad's explanation of what the powers of shadows are and how he finally got detached from his human body.

Vera's whole body stiffened, as her cheeks betrayed her. Something was definitely wrong as she wouldn't normally blush like that.

-How can you tell? -

-I got a glimpse of it- he replied. A part of him realised that, after not seeing each other for more than three years he couldn't judge her.

And yet he wanted to yell.

-Is it what I think it is? -

She didn't say anything, she simply nodded.

-Are you out of your mind? - he screamed, standing up and slamming his fist on the table.

-What's wrong with joining the Blue Brigade? They help people! - she said, keeping her cool. Gods. The Blue Brigade was a troop of ladies only soldiers that took charge of particularly difficult missions. Some people were a bit wary of them because, underneath the surface, there were some well kept secrets, like the real meaning of the spiral tattoo each of them had on their necks. And the belief was that they were, actually, a secret occult society.

Danni stopped himself from saying anything else. He stood up and left. He couldn't go out, too risky, but he would have loved to. He rushed instead upstairs, to his room, locking the door behind him. He was now with his back at the door, letting himself slide down to the floor. He grabbed his knees with his arms and tried to make himself as small as possible.

Gods. Why did this happen? Why did it have to be him? Why was there a three-year long hole in his life? His body shook as he imagined going back home only to realize that he was three years behind, that he needed to catch up on so many things and...and part of him didn't want to. It wasn't fair. Would other people want to know what happened to him? Or would they continue as they were?

His sister, his little sister, was now a soldier. Not an amateur like him, but a fully trained one. And his dad was dead. The monster, he hadn't even given him time to come back and make things right.

-I know you are in my shadow- he said out loud. He had felt it the moment he had stepped in the room, an extra weight on his mind.

And, for the first time, Lu came out of his hiding spot and appeared in front of him, as ethereal as Conrad was, a film of grey, translucent matter.

Danni had to used all the strength he had left not to sob.

-Why now? Why didn't you appear earlier?- it was a shock to see him like that, but Danni couldn't help it. He was angry already and this only made him more furious. Lu should have appeared to him in the ruins of the castle, to comfort him, to tell him that everything was not as shit as it looked.

But the coward had only managed to come out now, and only after Danni had actually felt him snooping on his thoughts.

-I was ashamed- Lu replied, lowering his head.

-You were an idiot-

-You can think what you like. I was ashamed and still am-

-Why did you wait to do it? Why did you wait to be at the castle before killing her?- that had been bugging him for a while. Lu could have found any other ways to deal with that than causing mass killings.

-I was looking for the most isolated place possible to perform the Last resort- he said, opening his hand and letting them fall down again before saying:

-Damage control of something-

-Meg is dead- Danni spitted out. He missed her.

-I know, and I will be forever guilty of that- Lu replied, taking a step backwards as Danni stood up. Danni realized that when Lu meant forever, he really meant forever, the Shadow being condemned to roam the earth forever. Forever guilty.

-I will find a way to bring you back, I told you-

-You mustn't. You will leave me as it is, and be happy- Lu replied, a sudden rush of emotions in his voice as he stepped forward.

-Why are you still here then?- Danni asked, bracing himself. It wasn't going to be good.

-It will be my atonement, trying to make sure you do find happiness-

-Is that why you were hiding in my mind?-

-Yes-

-Gods, you are even more of an idiot than I imagined! -

-Please do give a chance to your sister- Lu said, completely ignoring what Danni just said.

-I- Danni started but couldn't finish it. Wait, he didn't even need to.

-You saw why I can't do that- he had thought all of it. Lu would have seen it.

-But those are stupid reasons. You can be angry all you want about your two lives here and there, about the time lost forever, or you can go and try to make up for that lost time. She is here now, don't waste your chance-

-Where else could she go now anyway? I doubt there will be any ships leaving soon and nowhere is as safe as here-

-You are now being completely stupid-

-Like the idiot that thinks it's right to sacrifice all of his eternity on grief? You got rid of the fog, it might not have been the best way to do it, but you did it, and saved all the Foreign Contaminants not involved in the fight. They were going to hunt us down anyway. If I need to give a chance to my sister, if I need to make up for the most time, shouldn't you give yourself a chance to atone? You should give yourself a chance to keep your promise- and then he stopped for a moment in his tirade before adding:

-Or was that a mistake? -

Danni was sure that Lu was going to disappear,too afraid of whatever crap was going on in his stupid mind. But, instead, he was still there, still.

-Of all the things I have done in my life, that is the only one I don't regret-.

And he was gone, leaving Danni alone. Again.

A knock on the door. Danni was frozen for a second.

-I'll show you how is done. I'll take the moral high ground this time!- he shouted out, hoping that Lu was still listening.

He opened the door, finding Vera, her shoulders curved internally a little as her hand was still half way in the air after Danni opened the door.

-Hi- she said, her mouth opened a little, as if she was about to say so something more, but then she closed it again, biting on her lower lip.

Danni smiled and said :

-Come on in-.

They sat down on the bed, close but not close enough to touch each other. They both stayed silent for a moment, till Danni punched lightly on her thigh.

She did the same on his. He did it twice. She repeated three times, before they both started to laugh.

-I am sorry about earlier-

-Me too. But you don't need to worry, I have joined the Blue Brigade as a medic, they are paying for my training as mum's salary can't cover everything. When we go to mission, I stay behind fixing people-.

-Ah, now I recognize you- he said, before grabbing her head in between his arms and brush his knuckles on her head like when they were kids.

-My mates are quite nice actually, I made some good friends-

-Aren't you still in touch with Tunde?-

-Yes, but she is now all over her boyfriend and stuff, we never talk about anything fun. Speaking of boyfriends, who were you talking about, was it this mysterious Lu?- she said, scanning the room. Danni was proud of her. She had entered in their world only a few hours before and already got the gist of everything.

-He is here, but good luck convincing him to come out. He seems to have a strange rejection to see reason.


	14. When a door opens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang journeys to the doors of Hell.

They had quickly got accustomed to reports of people dying. Half of the world was in quarantine and the other half was dying of a disease nobody could figure out. Danni and the others were slowly running out of food.

But they didn't expect Pandora herself to make an announcement on the radio.

-I am Pandora of Middle Hill, the primordial shadow. I am calling all so-called Foreign Contaminants to join me. With the fog down you can finally raise your head again, you can breathe, and you can take your revenge of the people that had made your life a living hell for years. Take your guns. Take your powers and come to find me. We will join forces and-

Frank was the one that turned off the radio. He didn't say anything, but he looked so small on his chair, clutching his cup of breakfast tea. He looked at all of them, one by one, stopping then on Danni, looking at him with large, scared eyes.

Joining Pandora. Joining someone who was clearly willing to burn the whole place to the ground. And Gods, it would feel so good to show to all of those who had made his life a living hell what he was made of. For an entire minute Danni looked back at Frank, imagining how nice it would be to find the man that attacked those two girls on the train and serve him some justice. How nice it would be to find the two people that had left him with a scar after their beating and put the same scar on their skin.

And then a flash of Morris came back in his mind. And Penny. They didn't deserve to suffer.

-We are not going to join her. We are going to stop this madness soon- he said

-Well, we will need to step up your training then, we are not getting anywhere- Thomas replied, with a smirk on his face.

Danni sighed.

-Let's try again then- he said, taking one last sip of his coffee and leaving the others around the table. Only Thomas and Danni were allowed in the living room as the Captain tried to teach him how to reach his spiritual self.

But no, it wasn't going very well.

-You need to focus on your inner peace. Try to picture the nicest memory you have. Try to place it in space above you and go to reach it. Your soul should start coming out and I can do the extracting-

-You keep on saying that, but the whole "extracting" part is not that encouraging- Danni replied, lying on the floor. It was hard on his back, and he didn't want to know when was the last time Frank had had the chance to clean it.

-You need to trust me- Thomas replied, hovering above him.

-You know, if you had a cape and a funny moustache, you would be the best illusionist- Danni replied, laughing. Maybe a bit of humour was going to help?

-Yeah, yeah, smarty pants, shut up and concentrate-.

Danni did as instructed and closed his eyes. He had tried with a memory from when he first got the job with Morris. He had tried a nice memory of his family. He had tried with that chat he had with Meg in the car, when he felt he really had a friend in her. But nothing had happened.

There was one more thing to try.

He could see it, the evening light. He could see the car and, if he concentrated hard enough, he could almost feel it at his back. And he could feel the fear paralysing him to the point that he could not even raise his eyes to Lu, sitting right next to him in silence. He had seen the darkness in Lu, the chaos that he didn't know how to fight.

And, with a deep breath, he had taken the step forward, jumping in the dark. Admitting his fear. And Lu had kissed him.

It had felt so good. A wave of relief that had washed all over him.

Bring me back. Bring me back. Please my soul, go back to him, please.

Suddenly, everything was burning. Every single cell in his body was bleeding and he wanted to do was to scream.

-Come to me soul, I call for you- Thomas' voice resounded loud and clear in his head.

And the memory was back to be just a memory.

Danni sat up, panting. Vera opened the door with fury, running to his side with a glass of water. She had been doing that during all their attempts, ready behind the door, listening in on their attempts.

-We need to stop this- she said, putting a hand on Danni's shaking shoulders.

-It's taking too much of a toll on him-

-I can try again in a minute- Danni replied with a voice so crooked that spooked everyone, himself included.

-Yes, but you need to stop being an idiot and trust me- Thomas said, Looking at him sternly.

Danni didn't say a thing, but he knew that Thomas was right. He didn't trust him, that was the problem. The moment he would hear his voice calling his soul it didn't matter how strong the memory was, he was always stunned and brought back to reality.

-No, no more of this, I am officially sick of listening to your screams from the other side of the door. And you, you know that there is another way. A way for us to reach the underworld with our bodies- Vera replied, standing up and pointing her index finger and the Captain, her face livid.

-What are you talking about? - Danni asked tentatively, looking at the two of them facing each other. Judging from. Thomas' reaction, there was something he hadn't said.

-That is impossible. It will only kill the person trying it-

-You don't know that. I am happy to try it-

-You are not trying anything. If there is someone doing something dangerous that is me. What are you talking about? -

Thomas took a deep breath.

-Have you ever heard of the seven gates of hell? -

-Sounds like a jolly place. Is it the bar next door? -

-No- Thomas said rolling his eyes.

-In every continent in this world there is a special place where, if judged suitable, you can attempt the trial of the seven doors. If you pass it, if the gods find you suitable, you are allowed with your body to visit the underworld and come back-

-Well, that sounds like it's worth a shot-

-You are not trying that-

Danni couldn't believe is eyes. Lu had appeared in the room in front of everyone, shouting. Danni really wished he could see the pain in his face.

-Why not? - Danni replied, with a smug smile on his face.

-It's too dangerous. You need to keep trying with the astral projection- Lu stated, pointing a finger at him.

-This is not working, is it? What wrong with these seven doors? - Danni said, standing up and looking at his sister. He wanted to look at everything but Lu.

-The myth says that the admitted person will have to be stripped of the seven things they hold most dear as only in a pure state of mind, without a strong attachment to their earthly life, you are allowed in the land of the dead with your body- Vera explained, looking a little pained.

-That's why I am suggesting I go-

-We are not even discussing it. I go first, and- he inhaled deeply.

-If I don't succeed, you can try. You can be my backup plan- he said. He didn't want that to happen, Vera had to be protected at all cost, but he knew that she was never going to back down if he didn't give her some concessions.

-I could potentially come with you. The seven doors should not be part of the underworld, I could help you till the actual hell gate opens- Conrad added, for once not sounding bored or amused.

-How do we find them? - Danni asked, feeling exhilarated and deadly scared at the same time. What were they going to take away from him?

-We do have someone on the other side that could help us- Thomas said, before turning to Frank and say:

-Don't you have any salt? -.

They all relocated in the kitchen.

-I need a smooth surface- Thomas said, moving his head to indicate the table.

-But it might not survive in one piece. Would you mind? -He asked gently. Danni was a bit put out. Why did he have to be nasty only with him?

-No, go for it- he replied, through gritted teeth. Danni passed an arm around his shoulders and said:

-Not to worry my old man, I will get you a new one when this is all over-.

Thomas started working around the clear table, drawing a pentagram with the white salt. His gestures were clear and precise, he knew very well what to do. Once the beautiful drawing was done, he brought his hands together as in a prayer with his eyes closed.

-Do you know what he is doing? - Danni whispered to Vera, who was looking at the whole things fascinated.

-He is trying to find the person he wants to be in contact with, trying to call him or her out of the underworld-.

Suddenly, a whoosh of blue flames engulfed the table, but without destroying it or spreading to the rest of the room.

And Meg was standing in the flames. She looked as beautiful and as powerful as she had ever been, her mane of hair blazing around her, her full tail out for everyone to see and a big smile was making her face bright.

-Oh wow, hello everyone- she said, zooming in on Vera and Conrad, but she didn't ask who they were.

-To what do I owe the pleasure? -

Danni's voice was refusing to come out. There were a lot of things he wanted to say to her. Was she ok? Did it hurt? Did she have any regrets or last desires? And most importantly, he missed her.

-Do you know where the seven doors of hell are? - Thomas asked, going straight to the point.

-Why? - she asked, frowning.

-Because I need to find the heroes, I need to ask them how they defeated the monsters from Pandora's vase- Danni finally managed to speak.

-Why do you need to come down here for that? Can't you not call them like you did with me? - Meg replied. She didn't look as happy as when she had first appeared.

-I can only summon spirits I know the names of. Do you know them? - Thomas asked, his voice as stern as ever.

-No, I don't. There are a lot of people down here, and when I say a lot, I mean a lot- she replied, with a sad smile.

-Do you remember the cave where I left you and Lu? I have finally discovered why I liked that place so much. If you were to go a bit further in, you would find the opening passage- she said

-It doesn't sound like the best place to hide something like that- Danni scoffed. They had a pinpoint, they knew where to find this place. The place where he was going to die.

-Well, the best hidden things are usually right in plain sight. - Meg replied, smiling gently at him.

-Meg, I am so sorry-

-Don't worry so much, this place is not bad, I get everything I want. And by the sounds of it you might soon come to say hi-

-Do I have a chance at passing the trial? - he said, finally letting his fear out. He didn't look around himself, but he could feel everybody's eyes on him.

-It you keep faith and hope closed to you, yes, you will be able to. I will be waiting for you on the other side-.

And, with that, she disappeared. And the blue flame left the table.

They only took the essentials, some food and medicine supplies and rushed back to Danni's car, a little small for the five of them, as Frank had decided to join them too and Conrad was insisting on travelling like everyone else, he even put a seat belt on but it promptly fell back to the seat. But at least it was hooked in.

-Is it going to do anything to protect you? - Vera asked, with what looked like a scientific interest more than amusement.

-No, but it's fun to pretend that it will- was his answer as Danni started the engine.

-Last chance to get out Frank- he said, looking at the man through the rear mirror.

-No, I can't stay this time- was his reply. He was not looking directly back at him. He was fidgeting away, unable to stop his hands. Danni didn't reply. He didn't say a word because there was nothing else to say. Frank, meek and scared Frank was so worried about someone else's safety that he was prepared to leave his house. It said a lot.

Getting out of Kohan was easy, they saw a couple of bands of crazy people running around half naked, looking like zombies. They had blood splashes all over their bodies. But they didn't seem to bother with a moving vehicle, still capable enough to realize that they could not outrun a car.

The problems started when the car ran out of petrol. In the middle of nowhere.

-Didn't you not check it? Did you not see the blinking sign, moron? - Thomas said, jumping out of the car.

-It's not as if I don't have other things to think about- Danni roared, getting out himself. Vera and Frank didn't move.

-You, the poor little victim of fate. You are not the only one suffering, you know that! -

-Yeah, but I am the sacrificial victim- Danni shouted. What was happening? Why was he telling that to the Captain? He didn't need or deserve to know his inner thoughts.

-I would do it if I could. And you could have done it the less messy way if you would have just trusted me-

-You sent me to die. You allowed me to get out of the camp and didn't send anybody to help me! Why should I trust you! - he roared and rushed out at him, this time managing to catch the older man by surprise, getting him to lose balance and fall on the floor.

-I didn't have a choice. Better to sacrifice one than the many-

-Well that's what you get for being an ass- Danni shouted, finally managing to hit him on the face. Ah, that felt good!

-Would you two idiots stop it? - he heard Vera's voice, but he couldn't stop.

-We need to get out of here, we need to get petrol- Frank squealed, but Danni couldn't pay attention as Thomas answered back, getting the upper hand.

-Frank, go with Conrad and find a petrol station, something- Vera said.

And that was the last Danni heard. He felt a sharp pain on his lower back and, suddenly everything was dark.

He was in the back shop of Morris bakery. Morris was working on a cake.

-Hey, good morning, rough night last night? -

Another memory.

-Where are you? I thought we were passed the writing on mirror- he said.

-I am here-.

Danni turned around, facing once again the faceless shadow he had to believe was Lu.

-What happened? -

-Both you and Captain Mallory were under the influence of Anger and Doubt. I think the evil spirits are catching up with the plan and want to stop you-.

-Did you save our butts again? -

-No, Vera did, she had sleeping darts and sent you both to sleep. Conrad and Frank are looking for some petrol as we speak, and she is holding the fort of the car-

-Has Frank left her all alone? That idiot-

-Vera is more than capable of defending herself. Plus, she has me. I am not going to let anything happen to her-

-Promise me that-

-What? -

-That you will protect her. When I am dead. You can't keep the other promise you made me, but this one you can- it stung to admit it, but it brought also some solace.

-You are not going to die-

-Even if I do manage to do this thing, I won't come back the same. She said that they will take everything away from me and... -

-You are scared-

-No shit Sherlock, what gave you that impression? I am fucking terrified! I am willing trying to get to hell and I don't even know if I am coming back- he said, starting to pace in his own memory.

-Danni, can you come to give me a hand? - Morris shouted, shaking Danni back to reality. Or memory. Or wherever they were.

His own self in the memory appeared on the door, rushing to help Morris with whatever he needed.

-See, I am a baker, I am not a hero. I am not a soldier. I fight to survive, not to save people. I...I... - he let himself fall on the floor, chocking on his own words.

-You save people. You do the heroic gesture, I am not...-

-If I had a body, if I could hug you, if I could make everything go away I would do it in a heartbeat. But I can't-.

Danni was still on the floor.

-But I will do anything I can to keep you safe. That I can promise-.

Danni woke up. He found himself on the ground, the soft and wet ground. Thomas was still lying near him, still asleep.

-Wow, how can you be awake already? That should have knocked you out for another three hours- Vera sounded amused as she helped him to sit up and gave him a glass of water.

-I guess it's easier to wake up when you have a shadow mess around in your mind- he replied, trying to breath in nice and slowly, feeling drowsy. Vera helped him sit up and offered him some water.

-Thank you-

-I have got your back brother- she replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Thomas woke up a little later. As he tried to sit up, Vera rushed to help him.

-What happened? - he asked, looking at Vera, doing everything to avoid eye contact with Danni.

-I think you were subject to one of the evil spirits. They took hold of you guys and that was the result. Good news is that they were not very persistent, I sent you both to sleep and they lost interest-

-Good strategy, very good strategy- he said, shaking his head. His face looked still a little tired.

-Well, given that all is sorted now, would you both put the war axe away and work together? - Vera asked, indicating Danni with a movement of her chin.

-At least we can try not to get on each other’s nerves for a while- Danni said as he took a step forward.

Thomas finally looked at him, his face emotionless. He stood up, still a little wobbly on his feet.

As he stood next to Danni, he finally stretched his hand and said:

-I can certainly do that- and they shook hands.

They waited and waited. But Frank and Conrad were not anywhere to be seen. Danni looked at his watch.

-How much longer should we give them? - he was worried. He knew Conrad could deal with anything but Frank. He stopped himself from laughing when he thought about Frank trying to escape from someone.

-I think we have given them long enough, let's go- Thomas replied.

The closest petrol station identified by Danni's phone was near Burwash, a small, forgotten place, one of those villages inhabited by the same people generations after generations. As far as they could see there used to be one pub, one building that looked like a church and loads of little houses with nice, little gardens. Only small problem was that the flowers of those gardens had all been taken out and left uprooted to die. The houses too were empty, most of the door had been taken out of their hinges and smashed on the floor. And there was blood on some of the walls.

-What is happening here? - Danni whispered as they made their way as silently as possible through the main road, a single main road. They passed near what would have been a supermarket of some sort, but it was empty, the lights were off, and a lot of food was scattered all over the place. The smell of rotten cabbage was foul. Some smashed bottles had leaked all over the entrance.

-Do you smell it? - Thomas asked.

-Well, the rotten cabbages are definitely something- Danni replied. But, paying close attention, he could smell burning.

-Be careful everyone- Thomas added as they kept on moving forward, till they saw in the distance a big petrol station with a green sign at the top dangling down as it had been partially torn from its place.

All the three of them hid behind the last house. Down towards the station there were several army vehicles, the powerful, super protected types, and some soldiers, holding their guns up to the building.

Where the hell were Frank and Conrad? Danni wanted to believe that they had ended up going somewhere else, another petrol station. But there wasn't one.

-What shall we do? - Vera asked, looking up to the Captain.

And a roar, a louder sound than thunder itself, shook the building. Under everybody's disbelieving eyes, the roof of the building was torn apart by a huge creature coming out from the inside. It looked like an overgrown man, five or six metres high, with hollow, black eyes. It didn't have any hair on his head and he hardly had any teeth left. The rest of his body was of a strange, sickly grey colour. Its limbs were like sticks, with flabby skin flapping around as it tried to shield itself from the shower of bullets that the soldiers were sending its way. Danni saw them hitting it, especially on then very prominent ribs, but nothing seemed to be effective against it.

The creature climbed out of the building with its extremely long legs. The bullets continued to fly around the place, bouncing on the flabby skin, hitting some of the soldiers.

The monster grabbed one of the wounded and tore his head off. Blood was splashed all over the monster's face, who made loud sounds of approval as he finished eating the body of the poor man.

-What are we going to do? - Vera managed to say. Danni didn't think he could ever find the strength to talk.

-How strong are your sleeping darts? - Captain Mallory said, his eyes not leaving the scene. The monster was picking up another man and smashed it on the ground, before eating it in one go.

-I have one that could make a horse fall asleep but-

-If we were to hit the monster right in the head, how long could he be out? Would we have enough time to rescue the people in the petrol station? -

-Wait, are there people in there? - Danni said, his voice strangled.

-Yes. I think that's why the army is there. I can feel them, there are about ten-

-Is Frank there? - Danni asked. He knew the answer, but he was terrified to hear it.

-Yes-.

Danni stood up and said:

-Ok, give me the dart-

-What are you going to do? -Vera replied, crossing her arms.

-I can fly up there-

-If your hands are turned into wings, how are you going to shoot his in the head? - she said, arching an eyebrow.

-I will not shoot, Captain Mallory will shoot- Danni replied, trying to be as convincing as he could. He had not done a transformation that intense in so long, back to his time in school almost. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His arms soon started to sprout feathers, long black feathers. He panicked at first when he tried to change his legs, but nothing happened. Three years of not doing anything made it painful.

-Danni, stop it, this plan is ridiculous- Vera said

-Shut up and watch me work- Danni replied.

Finally, he felt his blood rush around in his legs. He had to bite on his own hands due the pain of the bones in his feet turning around and changing into claws. He took a deep breath before finally looking at himself. Except for his head and torso, he was a bird.

-Are you ready? - He asked to Thomas, who simply nodded.

-Vera, the dart-.

She passed it and Danni grabbed Thomas by the shoulders and flew away.

-God you are heavy- Danni said. Thankfully his legs were much stronger now that they had transformed.

-Stop complaining and flap those wings a little faster- Thomas replied, gun in hand. The monster had noticed them, throwing away the limbless corpse that he was working on.

-Shoot-

-No, go up a bit more-

Danni pushed up as fast and as far as he could.

-Now? -

-Now- Thomas Mallory finally shot the monster and got him right in the forehead. They saw him wobble a little, almost confused by the situation and then he fell backwards, smashing through what was left of the petrol station.

For a moment nobody moved. Then, when the monster didn't move for two seconds, the soldiers moved forward, breaking through the building.

-Is Frank still alive? - Danni asked, as he glided back to the ground, stumbling forward as his wings gave way after all the efforts, slowly turning back into human hands.

-I shall have a look- Thomas replied, rushing forward as Vera reached for him.

-Don't go on your own- Danni shouted as the Captain was almost at the building.

-I am of a higher rank than you kid, I give the orders- Thomas shouted back as he jumped in following the soldiers.

Everything seemed to stop again as Danni and his sister couldn't peel their eyes off the building.

Soon, the soldiers came back out dragging along the survivors. Thomas reappeared with Frank on his back, carrying a tank of petrol. Conrad was rushing behind him.

-How did this happen? - Danni asked opening his arms.

-Move away now. Explanation later- Conrad replied as they all started running away.

Seeing his car back made a wave of relief wash over Danni.

-So, what the hell guys? How did you end up in that situation? -

-That creature was Hunger, not any other monster. He knew how to knock me out, he had some black salt- Conrad replied, with a sombre tone. Not so snobby, now are we? Danni couldn't stop himself from thinking.

-I think he might have had help. Let's get away from here, fast- Thomas said, propping a tired and shaky Frank on the back seat.

-Who? Another one of these evil spirits? - Vera asked.

-They are teaming up together. But I am not so sure you want to stay and check it right now. Let's get away. We have a door to find- Thomas continued.

Danni didn't insist. They were soon back in action. Vera took the seat next to Danni, manipulating Thomas into sitting in the back with a sleeping Frank that seemed to be drooling a little.

Danni started the car and drove away, freaking out at every corner, expecting that monster to appear again any time. He would have rather not be eaten, thank you very much.

And, finally, there they were, the cave was there. They parked the car and got off.

-Where are all the rocks? I am pretty sure that we destroyed it, Lu went mad and made everything go a bit explody- he said, looking around. The entrance was just like before, when they sat around, waiting for Meg to come back.

-Are you sure that this is the place? - Vera said, looking around.

-It seems far too normal for a door to hell- Frank said, his arms crossed around his chest.

-That's what Meg said. Right, necromancer? - Danni replied, looking at Thomas with the corner of his eye before taking a step forward.

As they stepped forward in the cave and it started to get darker, they turned on their torches, while Conrad created a fire ball in his hand.

-Is it me being a bit spooked, or this place is huge? - he said.

He thought it was just a cave, a normal natural formation, but, instead, it was turning into a tunnel, going deeper and deeper in the rock, and were they going down or something? Plus, it was getting colder and darker. Wasn't hell meant to be boiling hot?

They kept going and going. Danni almost felt calmer as the time went by. Maybe they were not going to find the stupid door, maybe they were going to walk forever and ever, till they reached the centre of the earth and would burn to death.

He almost jumped when Vera took his hand and squeezed it. He looked at her and she simply moved her head forward. He hadn't realised that he had been looking at his feet the whole time.

The door was there. More than a door it was a wall, it took the whole space in front of them. But it was a door, in the light of the torches he could see that it was divided in two, symmetrical parts. It was beautiful to look at, the metal was finely worked that it made incredible leaves designed. It was an elegant spiral pattern, interspersed with some birds here and there. He had imagined it full of monsters, maybe some blood, some scenes of war. Not something like that.

-Ok, we are here- Thomas said. God, it sounded so ominous.

Danni, silently, stepped forward together with Conrad.

-What do I need to do? - he said. They hadn't gone through what to do with the door itself. It looked so huge, how was he even going to move it?

-You simply need to touch it and say that you are here for the trial, it will allow you in- Thomas replied. Danni didn't see his expression or that of anybody else. They were standing all behind him. He was going to be damned if he had to look at them one more time. He wasn't going to find the strength to go.

-Are you ready, human? -Conrad said, standing next to him.

-I am a Foreign Contaminant- Danni replied, feeling the anger grow in him. The same anger that had caused him so much trouble was now his anchor.

He stepped forward, put his open palm on the door and shouted.

-I am here for the trial-.

The door opened.

The last thing he heard was Conrad's voice shouting in pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do let me know what you think :)


	15. The Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danni faces the Trial of the Underworld.
> 
> He will lose seven of his most precious memories. 
> 
> Will he get to the end?

He found himself in a great vault, the same height and widths of the cave he just left. Except that it wasn't dark. He didn't need a torch to see around himself as blue fires floated around the walls of the room. And the doors were right in front of him. One after the other, seven all together. They all looked similar and different at the same time. The two main columns of each door looked like winged sphinx, with strong lion paws and even a tail, curled around their back sides. Their heads looked like women, with intricate headsets. They were different, Danni could see that the first two had the same leaf motives of the outside door, the second couple instead had scenes with humans in it. He couldn't really make out the rest of the lot. On top of the heads of each couple there was a slab of stone, creating thus the door. On each slab there was a sentence written in a language that Danni couldn't read, but it was always the same, repeated over and over.

-Hello? - he said, as nobody was there. Was he to just walk to the first door and start to make his way through? Did he need to do anything or...?

A growl in the darkness. Suddenly countless hands dragged him down to the floor. He shouted when five demons shoved him to the ground. They kicked him, a heavy booted foot keeping him on the ground as the strangers stripped him.

-What are you doing, leave me- Danni cried out, but the demons were too strong. What kind of demons were they anyway? Their whole body was covered in scales, not just parts of it like with Meg.

-You can't take part in the trial with the symbols of your mortal life- a female voices boomed in the room.

-Who are you? - Danni shouted.

-I am the goddess of darkness, call me Inanna. I preside on this trial- she said. Suddenly, all those hands were gone. Danni stood up feeling utterly vulnerable. He was completely naked. They had taken everything away from him. His whole body was shaking.

-Danni-.

A shiver went through him. That was Lu's voice. Shaken and scared.

The body that the demons had given him was a copy of his own. Perfectly identical. Except that it felt so small. Lu could barely breath as he stood there, looking at Danni, standing up after the demons had finished working with him. Danni looked at him, his eyes so wide in surprise and dismay. It was cold, Lu could see him shivering, but he was not covering himself. He stood up, the last living being between the world of the dead and the world of the living.

-What is happening, why do you have a body now...- Danni replied, shaking his head, having difficulties breathing.

-It's a punishment. He tried to help you and now he will experience the physical pain of your lost without being able to use his shadow powers- Inanna replied, her voice so powerful that Lu's ears were ringing every time she said something.

-Please- Lu pleaded, but two of the demons that had attacked Danni were now standing next to him, holding on to Lu' arms. He tried, but he couldn't liquefy.

-Step forward, contestant- she said. The remaining demons pushed Danni forward, just short of the threshold.

-To enter the world of the dead, you need to leave behind what is most precious to you. You will lose seven memories. Are you ready? -

Danni stood for a moment immobile and silent.

-Yes- he whispered.

-Please step forward- Inanna said again, and the demons where right behind Danni, ready to give him one last push.

-I love you- Danni said without looking at him.

Lu screamt as he watched Danni take a step forward. The sphinxes opened their eyes and an electric wave jolted forward, hitting Danni's head. His body trembled viciously, falling forward and continuing to tremble as, in the space between the two sphinxes, colours started to dance around, before turning into a memory. Danni's first memory. He was holding on to his dad's hand as they stepped closer to the incubator where a very small girl was sleeping.

-That's your sister, her name is Vera- his dad said, with a nice, suiting voice, coaxing strongly with the horrible environment where they were.

-Vera- Lu heard Danni's childish voice and all he wanted to do was to cry.

-Vera, yes. Will you look after her? Will you be a nice big brother to her? -.

-Yes. She is so small- Danni giggled.

-She is. But she will become bigger and you can both play together- his dad replied, giving him a little tickle. Danni laughed and added, with a thoughtful expression on his little face:

-But she is a girl. Will she like playing with my cars? -

-I am sure she will- the dad said, this time it was his time to giggle.

And, just like that, the memory was gone, slowly disappearing away, the faint echo of the giggles ringing in the room.

Danni was on the floor, gasping. His body still twitching.

-Danni, Danni wake up! - Lu shouted. But Danni wasn't listening.

-Danni please- Lu begged.

He gasped in relief when he saw Danni's body moving. He saw him grasping on the dirty ground, nails digging in the soil, his legs struggling to move, but they found the strength to stand up.

-What's your sister's name? - Inanna's voice boomed once again.

-What sister? - Danni replied.

-Vera, Vera, Danni, her name is Vera- Lu shouted, before receiving a well-placed strong knee in the stomach that made him taste blood.

-You shut up- the demon hissed, its green eyes burning with rage.

Lu's eyes got blurry, but he saw Danni turning to look at him. His naked body was now smeared by the dirt on the floor. His muscles were still twitching.

And there were silent tears down his cheeks as he stepped forward into another gate.

The sphinxes slowly opened their eyes and, once again, Danni's body was wrecked by electricity. He growled as his body was writhing on the floor.

Another memory. Lu saw Danni saving a younger boy from a group of bullies.

-What was the name of the first person you helped with your powers? - Inanna said, but Dani wasn't listening, he was still on the floor, shaking visibly.

-What was the name of the first person you helped with your powers? - Inanna asked again, a note of annoyance in her voice.

-I don't know- Danni's voice was only a whisper, but Lu heard it. He was still alive.

-Can we please go away? We will not disturb you further- Lu shouted. He had never heard of a godly trial one could be simply rescinded, but it was worth a shot.

Nobody replied to him though. Nobody was paying attention to all the words that were pouring out of his heart. It was his punishment to keep on looking at the trial without being able to do anything.

Danni stood up again.

Third door. They weren't even halfway through.

He stepped forward, already shouting and the sphinxes had not opened their eyes yet.

In the memory Lu could see a youthful Vera and an older woman with the same blue eyes as Danni looking towards a big ship where loads of people and goods where already going in. On the top there were loads of little flags tied to ropes flapping around. Was it a celebration? Lu noticed that there was a name on the shop, Diamond, and a diamond shape next to the name painted in blue.

-Are you sure you want to do this? - the older woman said, frowning. Her lips were reduced to two lines of worries on her nice face.

-Yes- Danni's voice sounded convincing. No sign of hesitation.

-Can I come to visit you? - Vera said, taking his left arm and shaking it.

-Yes, once you finish your exams- he replied, sticking his tongue at her.

-But school is boring-

-But Danni is right. You finish your exams and then we go all together- the older woman said with a stern look.

-Well, maybe it's better if you leave dad behind- Danni replied

-You know that he loves you, right? - Danni's mum stretched her arms and pulled him in a big hug.

-If you say so- Danni said, looking away.

-I don't say so, it's the truth. He loves you, it's just a very, very hard time- she then released him and still with her hands on his shoulders, looked right in her son's eyes and said:

-No, you go there and promise to make me proud -

-I promise. But how can I do it? -

-You will make me proud the moment you are finally happy-.

The memory, this time, seemed to simply vanish. No pop, no explosion, no cascade of colours. Danni's mother had the sweetest of voice.

-Don't, please don' t take that away from him- Lu shouted. He couldn't care less anymore. They were not paying attention to him. He could shout all he wanted. It wasn't helping Danni, but it was helping himself copying with the pain.

-What was the name of the ship you travelled with? -

Danni was crying on the ground, shaking his head in the dirt.

-What was the name of the ship? - Inanna shouted.

-I don't know-.

Lu struggled to breath as he watched Danni drag his body on hands and knees towards the next door.

The memory was one he saw before, in Morris' bakery with little Penny squealing in delight at her wonderful cake.

-What was the cake you made for the little Penny? -

No answer. Lu felt a knot in his throat as he looked at the doors.

Danni wasn't moving. He was lying there, his body lifeless like that of a rug doll in the middle of the fourth door. Was he dead?

-Demons, take him away- Inanna's voice boomed again in the room. She was angry, Lu could tell. Danni wasn't moving anymore, the trial was over. The demons even abandoned Lu, rushing forward to take the body way from the trial ground.

And then, right when it was getting too late, Danni, slowly, moved to his knees.

-I am not dead yet- he whispered, as the demons that had crowded on him scattered away, growling.

-What was the cake you made for little Penny? -

-Who is Penny? -.

Lu didn't even know if he should be happy to hear Danni's voice or if he should be devastated that Inanna had chosen to erase that very memory. Lu had seen it. He had felt it. He knew how important it had been for Danni.

But that was only door four. What memories were going to be erased now?

Danni dragged himself to door number five, still on his hands and knees when the next electric shock came down on him. Memory number five was set in the base, more specifically in the kitchen. Danni was cooking pasta, trying to make a decent, tasty sauce with the little ingredients he had and teaching a little Harpy how to do it.

-What did you teach the little Harpy? - Inanna said.

-I have never seen a Harpy in my life- Danni hissed.

There were only two more doors. The sixth memory was one that Lu remembered too. They were back in the car, Lu was lying in the back and Danni was talking with Meg, eating chicken and vegetables. Lu felt an immense sadness looking at Meg, looking so beautiful through Danni's eyes.

Wait, they were taking her away too. How was he going to recognise her when he finally went through the door to the underworld?

\- What was the demon's name? - Inanna's voice was now stern. Was she frightened that someone was going to crack the trial?

-I don't know- he whispered, breathing extremely quickly as he lied on the ground.

-Are you sure? -

-I don't know any demons-.

Lu stopped breathing at the realization that there was one last memory. And he couldn't stomach watching it. He kept his eyes on Danni as he slowly, painfully slowly, moved his body by infixing his nails in the ground and dragging his body forward with the strength left in his arms.

The sphinxes opened their eyes one more time.

Danni shouted more loudly than ever before.

And Danni was there, sitting on the side of the car, looking at Lu at his side.

Lu couldn't watch it, but he heard the voice, he heard Danni once again saying how scary it had been to see him reduced to a bubbling mess. He heard Danni ask him once again to tell him more about his powers.

And he heard the kissing.

The memory exploded again. A million, physical shards went everywhere. A sharp piece of glass hit Lu on the shoulder.

He quickly took it out, before turning back to Danni. He was lying on the ground now, shaking and bleeding from the injuries the glass caused him.

Lu couldn't officially take it anymore. He freed himself from the demons and rushed forward, gently moving Danni's body close to his. Danni was shaking, his eyes flapping around. There was blood dripping down his nose and blood on the rest of his naked body. His skin felt dangerously cold.

-What's the name of that Shadow? - Inanna's voice once again. She was expecting her answer, the last question of the trial, but Lu wasn't sure Danni could move anything anymore. His breathing was so broke and shallow. Was he going to breath his last soon?

-What's the name of that Shadow? -

Danni's eyes slowly focused again, zooming in on Lu.

Lu smiled at him. But Danni didn't.

-Who are you? Please don't hurt me- he said, weakly pushing away from Lu.

Danni had passed the trial.

-Please Danni, it's me. Lu- Lu pleaded.

He had said he loved him.

-I don't know you, please leave me- Danni whimpered, making himself as small as possible. The demons closed in on them again, grabbing Lu's shoulders and dragging him away.

-No, Danni, it's me. Please-

And then Inanna appeared, standing right next to Danni's broken body. She was dressed in a long, black gown made of smoke. Her black eyes were looking at him, fury burning in them as she stared at him for a good moment before turning to Danni. She lifted his slumped body as if it didn't weight a thing. Lu scanned around Danni's broken and dirty skin looking for any major injuries.

-We have a winner- she said, looking again at Lu, as in a challenge. But how can a Shadow, just a simple Shadow, challenge a Goddess?

-Let the door to the underworld open! - she said, before turning around and pushing the door at the back of vault.

Lu was blinded by an incredibly intense white light.

When he was able to open his eyes again, Danni and Inanna were gone.

Lu rushed to the door, but it was shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this pain-filled chapter. Do let me know what you think :)


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